HANDBOUND
AT THE
UNIVERSITY OF
TORONTO PRESS
•••*> •
310?
.Tcmrn-Andiropolog. Jngt.,Vol.33fn..Pl.l.
MED I T.E H
Alexandria
SO Longitude £ast 33 of Greenytdclt 36
SKETCH MAP SHEWING DISTRIBUTION OFTRIBES NORTH OF KHARTUM
THE
OF THE
^ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE
.OF
GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
VOL. XVII.
LONDON:
PUBLISHED FOR
je Anthropological Institute of (ireat Britain anb |«Ianir,
n
TRUBNER & CO., 57 & 59, LUDGATE HILL.
All Rights Reserved.
1888.
B1S048
LONDON :
HARBISON AND SONS, PRINTERS IN ORDINARY TO HKB MAJESTT,
ST. MARTIN'S LANE.
CONTENTS.
PAGE
I. On the Tribes of the Nile Valley, North of Khartum. By
Sir CHAELES W. WILSON, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., D.C.L.,
F.K.S 3
II. On the Functional Topography of the Brain. By Professor
D. FEBBIEB, M.D., F.R.S. (Abstract) 26
III. Description of the Cerebral Hemispheres of an Adult
Australian Male. By H. D. ROLLESTON, B.A., Scholar
of St. John's College, Cambridge, Junior Demonstrator of
Phj siology in the University . . . . . . . . 32
IV. On a Fossil Human Skull from Lagoa Santa, Brazil. By
SOBEN HANSEN. (Abstract) . . 43
V. Stone Circles near Aberdeen. By A. L. LEWIS, F.C.A.,
M.A.I 44
VI. On Palaeolithic Implements from the Drift Gravels of the
• Singrauli Basin, South Mirzapore. By J. COCKBUEN . . 57
VII. Notes on Stone Implements from Perak. By ABBAHAM
HALE . . 66
7111. The Migrations of the Eskimo Indicated by their Progress
in Completing the Kayak Implements. By Dr. H. RINK.
(Communicated by Dr. Robert Brown) . . . . . . 68
IX. Notes on the Natives of the Polynesian Islands. By COTTTTS
TEOTTEB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
X. Stone Spinning Tops from Torres Strait, New Guinea. By
C. H. READ, F.S.A 85
XI. Notes on Natives of the Solomon Islands. By Lieutenant
F. ELTON, R.N 90
XII. Trephining in the Neolithic Period. By VICTOE HOESLEY,
B.S., F.R.S. (Abstract) 100
XIII. Comparison between the Recuperative Bodily Power of Man
in a Rude and in a Highly Civilised State ; Illustrative of
the Probable Recuperative Capacity of Men of the Stone
Age in Europe. By Dr. GEOBGE HABLEY, F.R.S., Ex-
Professor in University College, London . . . . . . 108
IV CONTENTS.
PAGB
XIV. On the Evidence for Mr. McLennan's Theory of the
Primitive Human Horde. By G. L. GOMMB .. .. 118
XV. Hittite Ethnology. By Captain C. E. CONDEB, RE. . . 137
XVI. The Guanchos. By HENBY WALLACE 158
XVII. On an Ancient British Settlement Excavated near Rush-
more, Salisbury. By Lieut.-General PlTT-EiTEES, D.C.L.,
F.E.S., F.S.A., F.G.S 190
XVIII. On the Stature of the Older Eaces of England, as Estimated
from the Long Bones. By JOHN BBDDOB, M.D., F.E.S. 202
XIX. The Lower Congo ; a Sociological Study. By BICHAHD
COBDEN PHILLIPS 214
XX. The Origin and Primitive Seat of the Aryans. By Canon
ISAAC TAYLOE, LL.D., Litt.D. 238
XXI. The Maori and the Moa. By EDWABD TBEGEAB, F.E.G.S. 292
XXII. On the Shell Money of New Britain. By the Eev. BENJAMIN
DANES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 305
XXIII. On Tattooing. By Miss A. W. BUCKLAND 318
XXIV. On the Evolution of a Characteristic Pattern on the Shafts
of Arrows from the Solomon Islands. By HENRY
BALFOUB, M.A., F.Z.S., Assistant to the Curator of the
Pitt-Eivers Museum at Oxford . . . . . . . . 328
XXV. On the Occurrence of Stone Mortars in the Ancient
(Pliocene ?) Eiver Gravels of Butte County, California.
By SYDNEY B. J. SKERTCHLY, F.G.S., M.A.I 332
Annual General Meeting . . . . . . . . ... . . . . 338
Address delivered at the Anniversary Meeting of the Anthropological
Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, January 24th, 1888. By
FEANCIS GALTON, F.E.S., President . . . . 346
CONTENTS. V
ANTHROPOLOGICAL MISCELLANEA.
PAGE
Lectures on Anthropology . . . . . . . . . . ... 79
British Association Meeting. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Archaeological Meeting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Chinese Superstition .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 80
Address to the Anthropological Section of the British Association at
Manchester. By Prof. A. H. SAYCE, M.A., President of the Section 166
On the Notes sounded by Mr. Gallon's Whistles for testing the Limit of
Audibility of Sound. By W. N. SHAW, M.A 181
Note on the Dieyerie Tribe of South Australia. By SAMUEL GABON.
(Communicated by J. G. FBAZEB, M.A.) . . . . . . . . 185
Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology — Smithsonian In-
stitution, Washington, 1886. [Review] . . 187
The Primitive Human Horde 276
Sketch of Aniwa Grammar. By SIDNEY H. KAY . . . . . . 282
Racial Photographs from the Egyptian Monuments . . . . . . 289
The Races of India 289
The Primitive Human Horde . . . . . . . . . . . . 356
Statistics bearing upon the Average and Typical Student in Amherst
College, March, 1888. By Dr. E. HITCHCOCK, assisted by Dr. H. H.
SEELYE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 357
Distribution of Indian Tribes in North America . . . . . . . . 358
The late Mr. McLennan 360
ILLUSTRATIONS.
PLATES.
I. Sketch map showing distribution of Tribes North of
Khartum.. .. .. .. .. .. .. Frontispiece.
II. Brain of Adult Australian Male .. .. .. .. to face p. 32
III. Sketches and Plans of " Altar Stones " in Scotch Circles (Aber-
deen District) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
IY. Spinning Tops 89
Y. Map of the Lower Congo . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
VI. Map illustrating the distribution of Tattooing . . . . . . 327
VII. A series of reed shafts of arrows from the Solomon Islands . . 329
VIII. Sketch section from the Sacramento River to the Sierra Nevada,
through Spring Valley Gold Mine, showing the geological
position in which stone mortars are found . . . . . . 333
Vi • CONTENTS.
WOODCUTS.
PACK
Diagram of Brain, showing how an increase in the visual or in the
auditory sense might change the shape of the skull. . . . 29
Section of right bank of the Belliah Nadi, opposite Hinoutee . . . . 62
Corrigenda. vii.
CORRIGENDA.
Owing to Canon Taylor's absence from England he had no
opportunity of revising the proofs of his paper on " The Origin
and Primitive Seat of the Aryans," in the February number of
the Journal.
The following misprints should be corrected: —
Page 240, note 2,, for ' fiuk-ta," read "fiuh-ta."
243, line
10, for
' that directed," read "directed that."
243, „
41, for
'man," read "race."
245, „
14, for
'lime," read " line."
249, „
12, for
' Ayran," read ''Aryan."
251, „
25, for '
' Aestisei," read " Aestui."
253, „
8, for "
Kultur-worten" read " Kultur-worter."
253, „
43, for '
' race," read '• first."
253, „
4A,for '
' first," read " race."
254, „
2, before "Aryan," insert "developed."
255, ,
6, for "
verbal," read " verbal root."
255, ,
15, before " lug," insert " the root."
255, ,
30, for '
' i-OTrj-iii," read " 'i-arri-fju."
255, ,
43, for '
' orginated," read " originated."
259, ,
14, for '
' Finnische." read " Finnischen."
259, No.
1, for "
cock" read "crake."
259, „
2, for"
hals," read " hag."
259, „
2A,for
' cace" read •' cacc."
259, „
3, for "
hestitate," read "hesitate."
259, „
4, for «
hut," read " German hut."
259, „
4, for "
33-34," read " 33-44."
260, „
6, for "
cataya," read "qataya;" &nd.for " late," read " kale."
260, „
7, 'for «
gemo" read " canto."
260, „
8 far "
cup" read " cap."
260, „
9, for "
KoitTio" read " /ca/iirrw."
260, ,.
9, for "
Keltic cam, bent," read " Lithuanian Jcampas, crooked ;
Greek /CO//ITIJ."
260, „ 10, for " Lithuanian kampas, crooked ; Greek Kafnirrj" read
" Keltic cam, bent."
2fiO, „ 10, for "combe, /tump, kink ;" read " hem •"
260, „ 11, for " family race," read "family, race."
260, „ 12, for "make work," read "make, work," and for '"'carve,"
read " Sanskrit har-man, work."
260, „ 14>,for " coracle," read " carol."
261, „ 17, for "garden, hortui," read "circus;" and for " ^oprof,
\op6e," read " /ct'proc, Krpi'/cot;."
261, ,, 18, for " turn," read " burn."
261, „ 19,ybr "call," read " calends."
261, ,, 2 1, for " command," read " commend."
201, „ 22, for " KAB," read "KAS."
261, „ 23, for " KKK," read " KU;" for "coelam," read " coelum ;" for
" HUH," read " KUH ;" and for '' Jcavis," read " kavio."
262, line 6, for " ken," read " kan."
262, ,, 40, for " taatf," read " taatto."
262, „ 45, for " Suomi," read "in Suomi;" and for " pojn," read
"poju."
263, ,, 22, for " marzcicos" read " marczios."
Vlll
Corrigenda.
Page 263, line 32, for " 10." read " 10, namely,"
264,
265,
266,
267,
267,
267,
267,
268,
268,
268,
5, for " cat am," read " qatam."
33, after " we hare," insert " the Aryan and Finnic pairs.'
12, for "girded," read " is girded."
\,for " ffaz," read " qaz."
8, for " kulla," read " kulea."
11, before "gule," insert " Mongol."
27, for "uruda," read " urudu."
7, for " sil-al," read '' sil-at."
13, omit " salt."
38, for " beast," read " heart."
THE JOURNAL
ANTHEOPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE
OP
GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
FEBRUARY STH, 1887.
FRANCIS GALTON, Esq., M.A., F.R.S., President, in the Chair.
The Minutes of the last ordinary meeting were read and
signed.
The following presents were announced, and thanks voted to
the respective donors : —
FOR THE LlBEART.
From Messrs. MACMILLAN AND Co.— Palaeolithic Man in North-west
Middlesex. By Jno. Allen Brown, F.G.S., &c.
From C. H. E. CARMICHAEL, Esq. — Report of the Royal Society of
Literature, 1886.
From S. "W. SILVER, Esq. — Catalogue of the York Gate Library,
formed by Mr. S. W. Silver. By Edward Augustus
Petherick.
From Dr. A. B. MEYER. — Publicationen aus den Koniglichen
Ethnographischen Museum zu Dresden. VI. Dr. M. Uhle.
Holz- und Bambus - Gerathe aus Nord-West Neu Guinea
(hauptsachlich gesammelt von A. B. Meyer) mit besonderer
Beriicksichtigung der Ornamentik. Mit 7 Tafeln, Licht-
drnck.
VOL. XVII. B
2 List of Presents.
From the AUTHOR. — Notes on the Evidence bearing upon British
Ethnology. By T. V. Holmes, F.G.S., Ac.
Preliminary Note of an Analysis of the Mexican Codices and
Graven Inscriptions. By Zelia Nuttall.
Di alcune accette di pietra, specialmente di Giadaite, del R.
Museo di Antichita in Parma. By Dr. A. B. Meyer.
Intorno aquattro accette di pietra che si conservano nel nmseo
civico di Rovereto. Memoria di A. B. Meyer.
From the ACADEMY. — Atti della Reale Accademia dei Lincei. Serie
Quarta. Rendiconti. Vol. II. Fas. 11.
From the K.-K. AKADEMIE DEB WISSENSCHAFTEN, WIEN. — Sitzungs-
berichte, philos.-histor. Classe. Band 110, Heft, 1, 2 ; Baud
111, Heft 1, 2; Register, XI; Sitznngsberichte, math.-naturw.
Classe. I Abthlg., 1885, Nos. 5, 6-7, 8, 9-10 ; 1886, No. 1-3.
II Abthlg., 1885, No. 4-5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 ; 1886, No. 1-2. Ill
Abthlg., 1885, No. 3-5, 6-7, 8-10 ; Almanach, 1886.
From the ASSOCIATION. — Journal of the Royal Historical and
Archaeological Association of Ireland. No. 66.
Journal of the East India Association. Vol. XIX. No. 1.
From the CLUB. — Proceedings of the Berwickshire Naturalists'
Club. 1885.
From the SOCIE'TE' ARCHE"OLOGIQUE, AGRAM. — Viestnik hrvatskoga
Arkeologickoga Druztva. Godina IX. Br. 1.
From the DEUTSCHE GESELLSCHAFT FUR ANTHROPOLOGIE. — Correb-
pondenz-Blatt. 1886. Nos. 10, 11 ; Archiv fur Anthropologie.
Band XVI. Heft 4.
From the SOCIETY. — Proceedings of the Royal Society. Nos. 248,
249.
Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society. 1887.
February.
Journal of the Society of Arts. Nos. 1782-1785.
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. Vol. XVIII, Vol.
XIX, Part 1.
Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology. Vol.
VIII.
• Bulletin de la Societe d' Anthropologie de Lyou. Tome IV.
1885.
Bulletin des Proces-Verbaux de la Societe d'Emulation
d'Abbeville. 1885.
From the EDITOR.— Nature. Nos. 898-901.
Science. Nos. 204-207.
American Antiquarian. Vol. IX. No. 1.
Photographic Times. Nos. 276-280.
Revue d'Anthropologie. 1887. No. 1.
Revue d'Ethnographie. 1886. No. 4.
L'Homme. Nos. 21-22.
Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana. Ser. II. Tom. II. Nos.
11, 12.
SIR C. W. WILSON.— On the Tribes of the Nile Valley. 3
The following paper was read by the author : —
On the TKIBES of the NILE VALLEY, NORTH of KHARTUM.
By SIR CHARLES W. WILSON, K.C.B., K.C.M.G., D.C.L., F.R.S.
[WITH PLATE i.]
IN offering the present paper to the Anthropological Insti-
tute, I must apologise for its incompleteness. I have attempted
to throw some light on the tribal history and relations of the
people who live in the Nile Valley north of Khartum. The
subject is one of great difficulty and obscurity from the almost
entire absence of written records, and from the extraordinary
way in which the races have in many cases been mixed up. It
is curious, for instance, to see how completely the indigenous
population has, in certain cases, lost its nationality whilst
absorbing its Arab conquerors; and how Hamitic, Semitic,
and Nuba tribes alike claim descent from the Koreish of
Mecca. My own observation was limited ; I only came into
personal contact with a few of the tribes ; but I had to make
enquiries about the others for the purposes of the Nile Expe-
dition. These enquiries were naturally as to the political
relations of the tribes, and this must account for the absence of
scientific details in my paper. Active service is not favourable
to scientific observation as regards ethnological questions; the
disturbance of the population is too great, and the people are
too excited, too frightened, and too interested to be natural. The
only way to gain the confidence of natives is to live amongst
them until they become accustomed to your ways, and cease to
be frightened or shy. If natives once see that you know their
habits, and understand and like them, you can get almost any-
thing you like out of them. This is, perhaps, especially the case
with Arabs, who are naturally great gossips, but who are at the
same time extremely suspicious and believe that some ulterior
motive must underlie any leading or abrupt question. As far
as my observation went there is little to add to the account
which Burckhardt gave of the Nuba, though the country, owing
to Egyptian misgovernment, has greatly changed for the worse
since his visit.
The tribes of the Nile Valley north of Khartum may con-
veniently be divided into three groups; the Hamitic, the
Semitic, and the Nuba. I propose, however, in the first place
to say a few words on the Arab tribes north of Assiian, for they
form as it were a group apart.
These Arabs may be called semi-nomads, for in nearly every
case one portion of the tribe lives in houses or villages, whilst the
other lives on the borders of the cultivated district ; some of the
B 2
4 SIR C. W. WILSON.— On the Tribes of the
tribes, however, are pure nomads. They all own allegiance to
the Egyptian Government, and as long as that Government is
strong they are quiet and peaceful, but directly the central
authority is weakened they begin raiding each other. I append
a list of these tribes, which are all pure Arab, as far as I could
ascertain their names :
El Amaiem El Elekat El Goheineh El Nagameh
El Atawlah El Endarab El Harabi El Rewah
El Attaiyat El Fargan El Howatah El Saadnah
El Awazem El Fowa'ied El Kallahine El Sabh
El Azaizah El Fazarah El Kho welled El Sanmlus
El Bar'asah El Gahmah. El Maazi El Tarshan
El Beli El Galailat El Marshakah El Tarhuna
El Beni Wassal El Gawabis El Meteirat El Tarabine
El Do'afa El Gawazi El Na'am
35 Tribes.
Before entering into any details respecting the tribes above
Assiian, it is advisable to note a few historical facts which have
come down to us with more or less accuracy. During the
lioman period we find above the first cataract two tribes or
races, the Nobatse and the Blemmyes, who undoubtedly repre-
sent the Nuba and Bija of the present day. The Nobatse
appear to have been agricultural, the Blemmyes nomad and
aggressive, and Diocletian is said to have settled colonies of the
former on the Nile above Philse, as a "buffer" between the
Eomans and the nomads. In 451, the two races combined in
an attack on the Eomans, but were badly defeated ; and in 545,
the Nobatse were converted to Christianity, and their chief,
Silko, who founded the Christian kingdom of Dongola, called him-
self " King of the Nobatse, and of all the Ethiopians." In 20
or 21 A.H. (642) : Amr (Amru) sent Ali Sarh, with 20,000 men,
against the Nubas, but it was not till ten years later that he
penetrated as far as Dongola, and " gave peace " from Assiian to
Aloa1 (which appears to be Sennar), imposing an annual tribute
of 360 slaves on the Nuba king, Koleydozo. An incident of the
struggle was the attempted relief of a besieged Nuba chief by
a combined Nuba and Bija force, in which there was a contingent
from a giant race, called El Kowad, who wore copper rings in
their lower lips, and had elephants.
In 216 A.H. (832), the Moslem Governor of Assiian entered
into a treaty with the Bija chief, Kamin ibn Aziz, by which the
latter engaged to protect the road to Aidhab on the Red Sea,
appoint an agent for the tribe, and pay an annual tribute of
100 camels. This is the earliest record of a Government
engagement with the northern section of the Bija, now the
Ababdeh.
1 Aloa may be a corruption of "El Hoi" tbe island, tbe native name of the
country between the two Niles.
Nile Valley, Worth of Kharttim. 5
In 255 A.H. (869), Abu Abclerrahman, after a campaign
against the Nuba, passed eastwards to the mines in the Bija
country with the Rabya, Jeheyneh, and other tribes, accom-
panied by 6,000 camels carrying food and water. The Eabya
Arabs settled in the Bija country, married the daughters of the
Bija chiefs, and became the tribal rulers ; the Bija then sup-
ported the Rabya in their struggles with the Kahtan, Modher,
and other Arab tribes. By 332 A.H. (943), the supremacy of the
Rabya was complete ; and the head chief, Beshir ibn Merwan
ibn Ishak, of the Rabya, is said by Masudi to have then had
3,000 Arab horsemen, and 30,000 Bija camel-men.
In 344 A.H. (956), the king of Nuba commenced a succession
of attacks on Assiian, but he was invariably defeated by the
Arabs. In 1067 A.D., according to Leo Africanus, laiaia, son of
Abubekr, entered Lower Ethiopia and Nubia and founded the
kingdoms of Adel and Dangali (Dongola), but if this be correct
the kingdoms could only have lasted for a brief period. In 674
A.H. (1276), Daud, king of the Niibas, attacked Aidhab, and
advancing northwards burned the "sakiahs" near Assiian; this
was the beginning of the final struggle ; the Moslems defeated
Daud, destroyed the churches, appointed his nephew, Shekendi,
Governor of Lower Nubia, and made the people pay the exemp-
tion tax. A few years later Daud rose again, and the final
extinction of the Christian Kingdom of Dongola appears to
have taken place before 1317 A.D., according to the inscription on
a mosque at Old Dongola. Ibn Batuta says that the king of
Dongola, who he calls Ibn Kenz Oddin, became a Moslem in the
time of El Melik en Nasir, but it is not clear whether he means
Salaeddin, 1171-1193, or Ibn Kalaun, who was reigning when
he visited Egypt.1 In 725 A.H. (1326), Ibn Batuta went up the
Nile ; he travelled from Skit to Edfii with Dughaim Arabs, then
crossed the river, and started on his desert journey to Aidhab,
with a Bija escort, from Adoane (El Edweh ?). At this time the
Bija appear to have been carrying on a war with the people of
Barnau. In 815 A.H. (1412), the Howara Arab tribe attacked
the Beni Kenz, a branch of the Rabya, then settled at Assiian,
and drove them above the cataract ; Macrizi mentions that they
were called Barabra. In 1517, Sultan Selim conquered Egypt,
and though we have no records that I know of, there is reason
to believe that the advent of the Turks induced a further south-
ward movement of the tribes. According to Burckhardt, the
Gharbiyeh Arab tribe, being hard pressed by the Arab Jowabereh,
asked Sultan Selim for assistance, and obtained from him several
hundred Bosniac soldiers who drove the Jowabereh out of
1 Perhaps the King of Dongola became a Moslem in 1321 A.D., when the edict
forbidding Christians to ride horses, to wear a white turban, &c., was issued.
6 SIR C. W. WILSON.— On the Tribes of the
Nubia and settled between Assiian and Say; the descendants
of these men, though quite black, still call themselves Osmanli.
At a more recent period, as we know, the Turkish soldiers intro-
duced into the country by Muhammad Ali frequently married
and settled down amongst the natives.
The three races Arab, Bija, and Nuba which inhabit this
section of the Nile Valley, seem to have the same cluck with
the tongue to deny or affirm ; and they are equally superstitious,
firmly believing in the efficacy of charms and amulets, and in
lucky and unlucky days for commencing a journey or any of
the ordinary pursuits and occupations of life. They have also,
if I may so express it, the same strong religious instincts, and
this has led to the formation of villages or settlements of
"fekis," or fakirs, to which the men go for instruction. It is said
that the enormous number of fakirs is due to their exemption
from taxation, and the pleasures of an idle life, but I think it is
really due to religious sentiment. The Fokara (fakirs or fekis)
of the Sudan represent the learned class who can read and
write ; they are the letter readers and writers of the villages ;
write charms for lovers, and talismans for protection against harm
and the evil eye, and they exorcise demons. It is this religious
sentiment which has enabled the Khatimiyeh to extend their
teaching so widely. The Khatimiyeh are one of the many
Tari'kahs or religious orders of Islam ; and their head is known
as the Sirr el Khatm, " Lord of perfection," or the man who has
attained the highest degree of learning and piety. The
Khatimiyeh are strict Sunnis and strongly opposed to all non-
Koranic teaching ; they play the same part in the Sudan as
Senusiism does amongst the Arabs of the country to the north
and west. The object of the order is to strive after perfection
in religion and to spread their tenets amongst the people ; with
this view mosques have been built and schools established in
the villages ; and nearly every young man I met who could read
and write had been instructed by a member of the order. The
first man to introduce the Khatimiyeh teaching in the Sudan
was Muhammad Osman, an Arab of the Koreish tribe, and
descendant of the Prophet ; he had three sons, one of whom
settled at Mecca ; a second was Sidi Hassan, the father of Sidi
Osman, of Kassala ; and a third was Muhammad, the father of
Sheikh El Merghani who lives at Cairo, and who "rendered most
valuable assistance to us at Sawakin. The influence of these
men over many of the tribes is very great, and that influence
has always been used in a most beneficial way.
Before closing this section of my paper I must briefly
allude to the slave class. The number of slaves in the Sudan
is enormous, and they constitute nearly one-half of the popula-
Nile Valley, North of Khartum. 7
tion; they belong to a variety of tribes, speaking different
languages, so that their only medium of communication is broken
Arabic ; and this appears to prevent any combination which
might lead to a slave rebellion. They are not unkindly treated
by their masters, but for every slave who reaches Dongola at
least twelve have probably died on the road, and even many
of those who survive the horrors of the long marches bear the
marks of the cruelty of the slave hunters. The men are employed
as domestic servants, agricultural laborers, soldiers, and as small
craftsmen.: the women as servants and prostitutes amongst the
sedentary population ; amongst the nomads the female slaves
frequently become the wives of their masters.
I. Hamitic.
To the Hamitic group belong the Ababdeh, the Bisharin, and
probably the Kabbabish ; these tribes form part of the Great
Bija or To-Bedawiet speaking race of which the Hadendoas, and
Amarars of the Eastern Sudan are also members. Mr. Cameron
has so recently read a paper on the Bija, near Sawakin, with
special reference to the two last named tribes that I will only
make a few general remarks.
In the middle ages the Bija tribes were powerful, and ap-
parently consolidated under one leader. Ibn Batuta, early in
the 14th century, mentions a king of Bija, named El Hadrabi,
who received two-thirds of the revenue of Aidhab, the other one-
third going to the king of Egypt. Their territory contained gold
and emerald mines, and they escorted pilgrims from Kiis to
Aidhab, along the road then followed by pilgrims to Mecca. At
the close of the 14th, or very early in the 15th, their rich town
Zibid (Aidhab ?) on the Eed Sea was destroyed, according to Leo
Africanus, by the Sultan, and this seems also to have destroyed
their cohesion, for the Aidhab road was permanently closed
about the same time. Early in the 16th century Sawakin was
in the possession of the Turks to whom the " Troglodytse "
(Hadendoa ?) paid tribute. Leo Africanus (1526) describes the
Bija as "most base, miserable, and living only on milk and
camels' flesh." Selim El Assiiani says that they reckoned their
lineage from the female side ; that each clan had a chief, but
that they had no sovereign and no religion ; that the son by a
sister or daughter succeeded, and that they had fine cows and
camels ; he adds, in words which might be used at the present
day, " they are swift in running, by which they distinguish
themselves from other people. Their camels are likewise swift
and indefatigable, and patiently bear thirst ; they outrun horses
with them and fight on their backs, and turn them round with
ease." Their country was always in commotion, and they were
8 SIR C. W. WILSON.— On the Tribes of the
a people ever prone to mischief. I have already alluded to the
settlement of the Eabya, a tribe which entered Egypt with
Amr, and took a leading part in the conquest, amongst the Bija,
and similar settlements appear to have taken place amongst the
eastern tribes by Arabs from Hadramaut, for Selim El Assuani
states that the Hadhareb are the principal men of the nation.
On the other hand, Ibn Batuta remarks that near the Eed Sea
coast the Bija had some Bedawi Arabs subject to them. The
questions connected with the site of Aidhab, the position of the
gold and emerald mines, and the old pilgrim road, though very
interesting, hardly find a place here. Enough has been said to
show the peculiar relations that have existed between the Arabs
and the Bija, and to explain the origin of the Sheikh families,
which constitute such a peculiar feature amongst the tribes.
The Abahdeh occupy a most important position, for they
extend from the Nile at Assuan to the Eed Sea, and reach north-
wards to the Keneh-Kosseir road, thus completely covering the
south border of Egypt east of the Nile. They represent with
some of the Bisharin clans, the Blemmyes of the classical
geographers, and their liabitat is little changed since the Eoman
period ; they were in a constant state of warfare with the
Eomans, who at last adopted the policy of subsidizing them.
In the middle ages they were known as Bija, and conveyed pil-
grims from the Nile Valley to Aidhab, the port of embarkation
for Jeddah. From time immemorial they have been guides of
caravans through the Nubian Desert, and up the Nile Valley as
far as Sennar ; they intermarried with the Nuba and settled
down in small colonies at Shendi and elsewhere long before the
Egyptian invasion. When the Sudan was conquered by
Muhammad Ali, the Ababdeh rendered important services as
guides, in supplying information, and in providing camels for
transport ; the Fogara clan in reward for its services was given
the guardianship of the road across the Korosko Desert, and
its chief, now represented by Hussein Pasha Khalifa, was made
Khalifa ; new Ababdeh settlements were also formed at Abu
Ahmed and other places. They are still great trade carriers,
and penetrate into the most distant districts ; and as they are
constantly meeting members of the various colonies of their
tribe they have unusual sources of information and opportunities
for intrigue. The Ababdeh as a rule speak Arabic, having from
close contact with Egypt lost their own language, but the
eastern portion of the tribe in many cases still speak To-
Bedawiet; those sections nearest to the Nile have a large
admixture of fellah blood. They claim an Arab origin,1 ap-
1 Burckhardt says they are descended from Selman, an Arab of the Beni Helal.
Nile Valley, North of Khartum. 9
parently through their Sheikhs, and they have adopted Bedawi
dress and habits, but they are not so warlike nor of such fine
temperament as the true Arabs of Upper and Lower Egypt who
look down upon them with feelings almost of contempt. They
are lithe and well built but small ; the average height is no
more than five feet except in the Sheikh class who are evidently
of Arab origin. The Ababdeh have the character of being
faithless and being bound by no oath; they are notorious for
duplicity rather than for courage ; and are not to be trusted
unless one of the nearest relations is left behind as a hostage.
They were formerly poor, but have now become enriched by
English gold, and probably the most wealthy of the tribes ; this
has not, however, secured their complete loyalty. The Ababdeh
clans are: (1) The Ash Shebab, Sheikh Beshir Abu Jibran, who
appears to be a descendant of the Beshir Ibn Merwan of the
Rabya, who first settled amongst the Bija; they live in the
eastern part of the desert, and number about 3,000 camel men ;
(2) The Abudyin, Sheikh Minshetta Karar, numbering 1,000
to 1,500 men ; and (3) the Fogara, Hussein Pasha Khalifa, about
1,000 men. Sheikh Beshir is looked upon as the representative
of the old line of Sheikhs, but the privileges granted to the
Khalifa family by Muhammad Ali and his successors have
rendered their clan the most wealthy and important.
The Bisharin occupy a position almost as important as that
of the Ababdeh, for they stretch from the Nile, between the
Atbara and Abu Ahmed, to the vicinity of Mount Elba on the
Eed Sea, and hold the western portion of the Sawakin-Berber
road. They are nomads, and divided into several clans of
which we have little definite information, but they are said to
number about 20,000 men. They speak To-Bedawiet and are
apparently of much purer blood than the Ababdeh. They are
well-built, have good features, coarse, wiry, black hair dressed
up in the Bija fashion, and the velvety skin of the Bija race ;
they are great trade carriers and celebrated for their breed of
camels. The north-western clans are almost entirely dependent
upon Egypt for their supply of -wheat and other necessaries,
which they obtain from Assiian ; and they are allied to the
Ababdeh of that district. They have never taken any very
active part in the Sudan disturbances, and most of the clans
remained neutral though much pressed by Osman Digna to
join him. The known clans are : —
Sbentirab. — On the east near the Eed Sea.
Hamed Grab. — On the east near the Bed Sea.
Aliab. — In the Korosko Desert south of the Ababdeh.
Amrab. — In the Korosko Desert south of the Ababdeh.
10 SIR C. W. WILSON.— On the Tribes of the
Eireiab ~|
Hamar [ On the right bank of the Nile north of the
Geihainab f Atbara.
Nafiab
J
Burckhardt also mentions the Hammadab, a handsome, bold
race, mnch given to drinking, on the Atbara ; and the Baterab,
but I did not hear these names mentioned.
The Kabbabish tribe (Bruce derives the name from Hebsh
Sheep) is perhaps the largest in the Sudan, and its various clans
range over a wide extent of country west of the province of
Dougola, and from the Nile to the confines of Darfur. Their
language is a pure Koranic Arabic, but their origin is not
known ; they have a tradition that they are of Mogrebin extrac-
tion, and that they were many generations ago driven from
Tunis. They may thus perhaps be of Berber descent ; but
whilst the Sheikhs are apparently of Arab origin the men seem
to be more nearly allied to the Bija tribes than to the Arabs.
There is a curious notice in Leo Africanus to the effect that
the king of Nubia, whose capital was Dongola, was constantly
at war with the people of the Desert of Goran, on the
south (ie., Bayuda), who, being descended from the people called
Zingani, spoke a language no one else understood. May not this
reference be to the Kabbabish not then Arabicised. The view
that the Kabbabish are not Arabs is supported by the fact that
they say the Kawahleh, one of their clans, is not Kabbabish, but
was affiliated to them many years ago. Kawahleh is a name
of Arab formation, and Burckhardt in the early part of this
century mentions them as a distinct tribe not so numerous but
more powerful than the Shukriyeh and living about Abu Haraz
and 011 the Atbara ; the clan which is a very powerful one,
took a distinct line of its own in favour of the Mahdi during
the rebellion. It seems not unlikely that the Kabbabish received
Arab rulers, like the Ababdeh, after their arrival in the Sudan ;
they own vast herds of camels, cattle and sheep, and before the
war they used to have a monopoly of all the transport from the
Nile, north of Abu Gussi to Kordofan. They are dark, with
black, wiry hair, carefully arranged in tightly rolled curls which
cling to the head, and rather thick aquiline noses. They have
had little contact with civilisation, and the politics of the tribe
were always difficult to understand. They are divided into two
great branches each of which consists of several clans.
The Sheikh of the whole tribe is Sh. Saleh Fadlallah, who,
before the war lived in great state ; he has much slave blood
and is nearly black. The section formerly under his immediate
control consists of the following clans : —
Nile Valley, North of Khartilm. 11
Nurab, at Bir es Safi and Gabra ; Sh. Saleh's own clan.
Welad Hauwelab, at Bir Ambalili ; Sh. Saleh Wad Obeid.
Serajab, at Bir Amri and Hajilij ; Sh. Ahmed Wad Menallah.
Attawiyeh, at Bir Hobej.
Welad Suleiman, at Bir Es Safi and Bint Umm Bah.
Hauwarab, at Bir Gabra.
Umm Seraih, east of Bir Hobej.
Eawaheleh, at Bir Umm Sidr.
Bahuda, at Bir Es Safi,
Sheriabla, near Obeid.
Kibeishab.
Kawahleh, Bir el Kejmar.
Aiwardieh, Ghalayau, Walad Ugbak, Himrab, Ayayit, and
Dereywab.
The minor section under Sh. Salim Isawi, is often called the
Umm Meter tribe ; many of the Sheikhs and others have
houses on the Nile in the Dongola province, but the clans really
live in the Kab Valley, an oasis running parallel to the Nile.
The clans are, passing from south to north, the Bosh,
Wamattu, Ghudayrab, Gungunnab, Dar Bushut, Murayssisab,
Dar Hamid, Bulaylat, Awayidah.
II. Semitic,
All the Arab speaking tribes of the Sudan speak a pure but
archaic Arabic, such probably as they spoke when they left
Arabia. They invariably pronounce the letter Kaf as "g" in
good, and the Jim like "/" in jar, agreeing in this respect with
the Syrian and Bedawi pronunciation, and not with the Egyptian.
The Arabs distinguish themselves as Ahl Ibl, "people of the
camel," who live as nomads in the desert, and have kept their
blood pure ; Ahl Sawaki, " people of the Sakieh," who have
settled down as agriculturists, irrigating the ground, and have
intermarried with the Nuba ; and Baggarah, or cattle breeders
and owners. The purely nomad tribes on the south have to
make annual migrations to avoid the fly (Johara) which appears
during the rainy season ; these migrations are nearly always
attended by disturbances, but the Egyptians utilised them, as
the Funniyeh kings did at an earlier date, to collect the taxes.
Several of the tribes, as the Shagiah and Ja'alin, have adopted
the non-Semitic custom of gashing the cheeks, but the habit is
not general. As a rule the head is shaved according to Arab
custom, but the rule is very laxly observed by men of mixed
descent ; there is, however, no " hair-dressing " such as exists
amongst the Hamitic tribes. The Arab arms are the lance, the
two-edged sword, and a small knife fastened by a strap to the
1 2 SIR C. W. WILSON.— On the Tribes of the
left arm, and they do not carry a shield; they follow what
appears to be the old. Semitic custom of beheading a fallen
enemy, but they never mutilate the bodies in the horrible
manner that the Brja races (Hadendoa) do, nor do they maim
prisoners in the way Osrrian Digna is said to have done.
One of the most interesting, and at the same time one of the
most obscure questions in the Sudan is the extent to which the
conquering Arabs established themselves amongst the indi-
genous tribes as over-lords or ruling families. In the case of
the Bija (Ababdeh ?) we have, as already noted, an historic
record of an occurrence of the kind, and it seems probable that
many other tribes accepted Arab rulers in a similar way. This
would explain the claim of people such as the Mahass, who are
clearly N liba, to be of Arab origin ; and also the Semitic type,
the higher intelligence, and often the greater stature of the
Sheikh class. In some cases the Arab rulers appear to have
intermarried with slaves rather than with the tribe they had
joined, as in the case of Sheikh Saleh, of the Kabbabish, who is
nearly black. The chiefs of settled clans are always termed
Meliks, whilst those of the nomads are Sheikhs, a distinction
that seems to be of very ancient date. The " Meliks " or kings
of Palestine who were overthrown by Joshua, probably occupied
positions analogous to those of the Sudan Meliks.
The nomad Arabs, especially the Baggarah, are as thoroughly
Arab now as when they left their Asiatic home, and it may still
be said of them that their hand is against everyone and every-
one's hand against them. Before the Egyptian conquest the
riverain population was armed and strong enough to resist the
nomads, and in the south the Sennar Government maintained
order with an army of blacks. During the Egyptian occupation
the riverain population was weakened by misgovernment and
over-taxation ; the country was depopulated to a great extent,
and the power of the Meliks taken from them. Order was kept
by the Egyptian military forces, but these having now been
withdrawn, or killed, the riverain population is entirely at the
mercy of the nomads. That the latter have made use of their
power we know from recent accounts, and the fact that
Danaglas have been raided and sold as slaves in Egypt since
the withdrawal of the British troops.
The Gararish, or Kararish, are semi-nomads, extending along
the right bank of the Nile from Wady Haifa to Merawi : many
of them are settled as agriculturists in Argo Island, and they
are much employed as guides and in the transport of goods.
They claim to be distantly connected with the Fogara clan of
the Ababdehs ; they are evidently of very mixed blood, but the
Arab type is much stronger than the Bija, and they are pro-
Nile Valley, North of Kliartiim. 13
bably of Arab origin. They number about 400 men and have
two Sheikhs : Sh. Abdullah Wad Shemein and Sh. Suleiman.
The Hauwawir are pure nomads and extend along the
desert road from Debbeh to Khartum as far as Bir Gamr,
and from Ambigol to Wady Bishara. They claim to be, and
evidently are, of pure Arab blood, and say that they are related to
the Huweir of Egypt. They are not unlike the nomad Ja'alin
in appearance, and they have not adopted any of the African
customs such as gashing the cheek, and dressing the hair ; they
are friends and allies of the Sowarab, number about 2,000 men,
and have large herds of oxen, sheep, and many camels. The
Sheikh is Khalifa Taiyalla. The clans are : —
Fezarab, at Bir Gamr.
Mowalikeh, at Bir Bahat.
Hamasin, at Bir El Elai.
Umm Kereim, at Bir abu Osher.
Harrarin, at Bir Hassanauwi.
Umm Eoba, at Bir Bayiida.
The Shagiah are, perhaps, the most interesting tribe in the
Nile Valley; they are partly nomad, partly agricultural, and
occupy the country on both banks of the Nile from Korti to the
vicinity of Birti, and a portion of the Bayiida desert. They
claim descent from a certain Shayig Ibn Hamaidan, of the
Beni Abbas, and maintain that they came over from Arabia at
the time of the conquest, but whether they led the van of
Arab invasion in the seventh century, or took part in the
greater invasion and conquest in the fourteenth century, is
uncertain. At Old Dongola there is an inscription to the
effect that Safeddin Abdullah (who may have been a Shagi'ah
chief) opened a mosque on the 1st June, 1317 A.D., in honour
of his victory over the infidels. On reaching the district they
now occupy the Shagiah dispossessed and largely intermarried
with a people of Nuba origin, whose language was Rotana;
some of the places still retain their Rotana names ; and in one
part of the district there are families which have preserved
their Nuba blood in comparative purity. Like other Arab
tribes they formerly owned allegiance to the Funniyeh kings
of Sennar, but when the central authority become weak they
threw off the yoke, and prior to the advent of the Memluks
in the Sudan had possessed themselves of the country north-
wards as far as Mahass. They were forced back by the
Memluks, but they have never forgotten that they once ruled
Dongola ; and the Danaglas still tell dismal stories of the
sufferings they endured under their Arab taskmasters. Hence
arose a blood feud which had a curious influence on several
14 SIR C. W. WILSON.— On the Tribes of the
incidents of the Sudan rebellion. When the Egyptians invaded
the country in 1820 the Shagiah were under two " meliks "
or "kinglets," Chaues and Zubeir, whose modern represen-
tatives are Saleh Bey Wad el Mek, and Khashm el Mus.
At that period they were distinguished for their love of
liberty, their courage, their skill as horsemen, their hospitality,
their schools, in which all Moslem science was taught, and their
great wealth in corn and cattle; their cavalry mounted on
horses of the renowned Dongola breed were known and dreaded
throughout the Sudan ; their arms were the lance and sword ;
and the chiefs wore coats of mail and had shields of hippopo-
tamus • or crocodile skin, whilst the horsemen carried javelins
which they threw. They offered a stubborn resistance to the
Egyptians, but, once subdued, they joined the Egyptian army,
and rendered important services in the further conquest of the
country. For these services, and others connected with the
suppression of the Ja'alin revolt in 1822, they were granted
lauds on the right bank of the Nile, between Shendi and
Khartum, from which the Ja'alin had been expelled. As the
Egyptian power became consolidated these settlements increased
in importance, and supplied recruits to the Shagiah battalions
of Bashi Bazuks, of which the Egyptians maintained several ;
these battalions were commanded by Shagiah officers, many of
whom grew wealthy and had country houses at Halfaya, near
Khartum. The military relationship was followed by a more
intimate one, for the Turks took Shagiah wives, and the sons
all entered the Bashi Baziik force, and became the best fighting
material in the Sudan from a Bashi Baziik point of view.
The tribe is divided into twelve clans, and of these the
Sowarab and a portion of the Aiiuiah remained nomad, whilst
the others became agricultural as they intermarried with the
Nuba. Their country, which is the ancient kingdom of Ethiopia,
is the most fertile south of the Fayiim, and many of their
villages are well built, with a proportion of fortified houses not
unlike in shape the pylon of an Egyptian temple. The Shagiah
speak Arabic, and, as a rule, preserve the Semitic type, but the
large admixture of alien blood is very evident, and the Nuba
families amongst them, though thoroughly Arabicised, retain
their Nuba features. The nomads have to a great extent pre-
served their purity of blood, and observe many Arab customs
lost to the riverain population. The latter section has sadly
deteriorated through close intercourse with the Turk and
Albanian Bashi Bazuks in the Egyptian service ; of all people
in the Sudan they are the most fickle, one day loyal, the next
openly disloyal ; one day as brave as lions, the next as timid as
sheep; capable of acts of great self-sacrifice, and also of the
Nile Valley , North of Kharttim. 15
foulest treachery. Their actions seem to be governed by impulse,
and it is impossible to say what a Shagiah will do under any
given circumstances. General Gordon's first fight was to rescue
a few Shagiah, shut up in a fort at Halfaya, who, to everyone's
astonishment, remained loyal while their comrades went over to
the enemy. Saleh Bey, the head of the whole tribe, surren-
dered at Fadassi, on the Blue Nile, with a steamer, boats, guns,
and ample provisions, when he knew he was to be relieved in
two or three days by Gordon ; yet no sooner did he join the
Mahdi than he refused to obey him, and was kept in chains
throughout the siege. Khashm el Miis, on the other hand,
remained loyal to the end under most trying circumstances.
General Gordon says he " will back them to try a man's patience
more sorely than any other people in the wide world, yea, and
in the universe." The Shagiah are religious, and in no tribe
has the teaching of Sidi Osman, of Kassala, which represents
progress and civilisation as opposed to the stagnation and bar-
barism of Mahdiism, so many followers.
The Shagiah clans are : —
1. B'aiidab, at Birti. Melik, Muhammad Wad el Sadyk.
2. Omarab, at Amri. Melik, Walad Soeyl.
3. Wad Uram Salim. Sub-clan Hamdab, at Hamdab. Melik,
Wad et Tayib.
4 Kadangab, at Barkal and Karimah.
5. Nafiab, or Walad Amir, at Duaim. Melik, Omar Soleyman.
6. Howeyshab, at Abu Dom Sanam. Melik, Saleh Samarit.
Sub-clan Salahab.
7. Sowarab, the settled portion at Goreir and Hattani, Sheikh,
Muhammad Saleh ; and at Wady Bishara, Sheikh Wad el CJzeirik.
The nomad portion is divided into two principal sections, the
Deisarab, Sheikh Muhammad Wad el Kheir, and the Fufunja,
Sheikh Ali Baghft. The nomads number about 1,000 men, and
stretch across the desert from Abdum to Bir Gamr and Wady
Bishara ; they own large numbers of camels, cattle, and sheep,
and before the war had charge, with the Hauwawir, of the
Debbeh-Khartum road.
8. Auniah, partly settled at Korti and Wady Bishara ; partly
nomad in the desert between those places.
9. Hannikab. Melik, Khashm el Miis.
10. Adlanab. Melik, Saleh Bey.
11. Eakabiyah.
12. Hakemab, at Belal and Nuri.
At Belal and Niiri are several Nuba families of nearly pure
blood, which, though now speaking Arabic, and Arab in habit,
appear to have been later immigrants from the south-west at
16 SIR C. W. WILSON.— On the Tribes of the
the time of the Funniyeh supremacy. At Korti are the Beday-
riah, a Nuba people with an admixture of Arab blood, who still
speak Itotana amongst themselves. They are generally classed
with the Shagiah, and were until lately under Shagiah chiefs, but
their name, derived from Bedayr, the diminutive of Bedr, " the
full moon," is Arab ; possibly at an early period some numbers
of the Bedayriah tribe, now north-north-west of Kordofan,
may have established an over-lordship, which was afterwards
wrested from them by the Shagiah.
, The next in interest and importance is the Ja'alin tribe, which
formerly occupied the country on both banks of the Nile from
Khartum to Abu Ahmed. The Ja'alin claim descent from Abbas,
the uncle of Muhammad, of the Koreish tribe, and they are un-
doubtedly of Arab origin, though the type has been much modi-
fied in those clans which took to agricultural pursuits and inter-
married with the Nuba population. The name Ja'alin (sing.
Ja'ali) does not seem to be derived from any founder of the tribe,
but from the root Ja'al, "to put," "to stay," and hence it means, in
this sense, those who abide or settle. The term Ja'ailah (root,
Ja'al) is still used in the Lebanon for the temporary abodes of
the people in spring-time ; and Ja'alin are therefore what we
should call " squatters " on the banks of the Nile. According to
their own tradition the Ja'alin emigrated to Egypt in the 12th
century, and thence worked their way up the Nile, but they
appear to have settled in the Sudan before the Shagiah, and
probably reached the country at a much earlier date than the
12th century. They were tributary to the Funniyeh kings of
Sennar, and must then have been of great importance, for they
had a prince of their own race called Wad Agib, whose family
intermarried with the reigning family, and who, under the kings
of Sennar, exercised authority as chief of all the Arabs eastward
to the Red Sea, and northward to Korti and Mahass. At the
date of the Egyptian invasion they were independent, and the
strongest of the Arab tribes ; at first they submitted, but in
1822 the Saadab clan rose, under Mek Nimr. who was of the
Wad Agib family, and massacred the Egyptian garrison at Shendi
and burned Muhammad Ali's son alive. The rebellion was
suppressed in the most ruthless manner ; the Saadab were almost
exterminated and their lands given to the Shagiah; and the
whole Ja'alin tribe was afterwards looked upon with distrust.
The Ja'alin were practically debarred from Government employ-
ment, and from service in the Bashi Baziik force which was
recruited from the more favoured Shagiah ; they never became
completely reconciled to Egyptian rule, and this may explain
the fact that they were the first tribe near Khartum to rise, and
that almost to a man, they went against the government. The
Nile Valleij, North of Khartum. 17
noted Zubeir Pasha belongs to the Jamiab clan of the tribe ; he
is descended from one of the oldest families, and there is little
doubt that, had he been so disposed, he could have kept them
loyal and the country north of Khartum open. It was the
existence of this hostile tribe north of Khartum which made
communication with General Gordon so difficult. The Ja'alin
are now partly agricultural, partly nomad, and they are
divided, as far as could be ascertained into the following
clans : —
Gereiyat. — Sheikh Wad el Jahiiri ; nomads between the Nile
near Khartum and Bir Gabra umm G animal, there are three
sections : the Wahalab, Sanitab, and Mukatab ; and they number
about 1,000 men.
Futahdb. — Nomad and riverain on left bank a little below
Khartum.
Sururab. — Sh. Muhammad Wad es Seyd, agricultural, between
Omdurman and Kereri ; on left bank.
Jamiab. — Partly nomad partly agricultural ; between Jebel
Garri and Kerreri, and thence to Bir Gabra in the desert. They
were formerly on both banks of the Nile, but now on left bank
only. Zubeir Pasha and Feki Mustapha, who blockaded the
north side of Khartum on the left bank, belong to this clan.
Gereishab. — Agricultural ; Sh.Wad el Habashi at Wad Habashi
north of the Sixth Cataract.
Sdddab. — Agricultural ; at Salawa on left bank, and round
Shendi on right bank. The Sheikh Wad Hamza of the family
of Mek Nimr was the Mahdi's Emir of Shendi.
Suleiab. — Sh. Fayit ; nomad and agricultural, Wady el Ahmar,
on left bank.
Muhammadab. — Sh. El Khidr, agricultural ; near Matammeh.
Kitayab. — Sh. Feki Khalaf Allah, left bank below Matammeh.
said by some to be the parent Ja'ali clan, and the Sheikh is looked
upon as the head of the whole tribe.
Ardmelah. — Melik Beshir ; agricultural, left bank below
Matammeh ; they are called the people of Wad Agi'd.
The Jebeldb, Mukniyeh, Aliab, Zeidab, Temarab, and Nafiab
are also Ja'ali clans below Matammeh, partly nomad and partly
agricultural.
The Ja'alin differ so much from the Shagi'ah in feature that
they can readily be distinguished at a glance. Burckhardt
says that the true Ja'alin from the eastern desert have exactly
the same countenance and expression of feature as the Bedawin
of Eastern Arabia, and he remarks that their beards are even
shorter and thinner. Mr. Van Dyck, son of the well-known
Dr. Van Dyck of Beirut, who was with me in the Sudan, com-
pared the difference to that between the Druses (Shagfah) and
VOL. xvii. c
18 Sm C. W. WILSON.— On the Tribes of the
Maronites (Ja'alin). The typical Ja'ali has a nearly peipendicular
forehead, a sharp nose, and a rather pointed chin which some-
times projects in a marked manner. The Shagiah has a sloping
forehead, a more aquiline nose, and a slightly receding chin.
The Shagiah face is long, with a contemplative expression ; the
Ja'ali face is short with a quick, sharp expression as of a
smart man of business. The Shagiah have the character of
being overbearing as Bashi Bazuks, and hard as masters or land-
owners ; the Ja'alin of being unscrupulous merchants and cruel
slave dealers. Both tribes have adopted the African custom of
gashing the cheeks of their children; the Shagiah gashes are
vertical, the Ja'ali horizontal, and the latter say they adopted
the custom from the former.
The Monassir occupy the cataract country from Birti upwards
to the Eobatabs ; they are partly nomad, partly agricultural, but
have no great extent of cultivated ground ; the riverain popu-
lation lives in houses and villages, and the whole tribe numbers
about 2,500 men. They claim kinship with the Ababdeh
through a common ancester, Mansur, brother of Abad, the
reputed grandfather of Ababdeh; they are also connected with
the Shagiah. Their language is Arabic, and they appear to be,
like their neighbours, the Shagiah, of mixed Arab and Nuba
descent; their connexion with the Ababdeh may be through
the Arab blood in that tribe. The Sheikh Suleiman Wad Naman
Wad Ganrr acquired an evil reputation through the murder of
Colonel Stewart and the English and French consuls.
The clans are : —
Hamamid, at Bir Sani.
Kahulah, at Ab Kharit.
Kajabab, at Bir Jawrah or Jora.
Walad Gamr, at Wady Gamr.
The Robatab are partly nomad, partly agricultural; they
occupy the great bend of the Nile at Abu Ahmed, and the island
of Mograt. They speak Arabic and claim descent from a certain
Robat, or Rabat, of the Beni Abbas ; but they are very frequently
spoken of as one of the Ja'alin clans. They are of mixed Arab
and Nuba blood, and number about 3,000 men. The heads of
the two divisions of the tribe are Melik Muhammad Nabfh who
lives at Kuddek, and Sheikh Bishir of Mograt Island.
The Hassaniyeli are pure nomads, and apparently of Arab
descent. They occupy the desert between Abu Dom (Merawi)
and the Nile opposite Shendi ; the range of Jebel Garri at the
Sixth Cataract ; and the left bank of the Nile south of Khartum.
They are thus much scattered, and everywhere they have the
same reputation as robbers; they have blood feuds with the
Nile Valley, North of Kharttim. 19
Sowarab and Hauwawfr, but intermarry with the Monassir. The
Sheikh of the northern section, Wad el Fezari, lives at Bir Ghirir,
near the Merawi-Shendi Eoad.
The Ghubusli, a small settlement on the left bank of the Nile
opposite Berber, are all fakirs, or religious men. They are an
offshoot from the Bedayriah, and came originally from Kordofan.
They were allowed a subsidy by Muhammad Ali, and afterwards
by the Egyptian Government, but they all joined the Mahdi,
and one of their number, Muhammad el Kheir, became Emir of
Berber after it fell.
The Meyrifdb, a small semi-nomad tribe on the right bank
near Berber, are of doubtful origin. They speak Arabic, and are
sometimes classed as Ja'alin, but the Ja'alin repudiate them ;
their name does not seem to come from an Arabic root, and it
seems a question whether they are not of Bija origin. It is said
that, contrary to Arab custom, they never marry slaves.
The Awadiyeli and Fadniyeh are two small nomad tribes
of pure Arab blood, living in the desert between the wells of
Jakdiil and Matammeh ; they are often incorrectly classed as
Ja'alin, but do not belong to that tribe; the former is more
nearly allied to the Eobatab. They have large numbers of horses
and cattle but no sakiehs ; the horses are of the celebrated black
Dongola breed, and some mounted men of the former tribe
charged one side of the square at Abu Klea with much spirit.
The Sheikh of the Awadiyeh is Beslrir Wad ed Dabba, and of
the Fadniyeh, Muhammad Wad el Feki ez Zein.
The Battakhin occupy the banks of the Blue Nile near Khar-
tum ; and it was with them that General Gordon fought most of
his battles near Khartum. Their Sheikh, El Obeid, inflicted the
crushing defeat on General Gordon's troops on the 4th Sep-
tember, 1884, which was the proximate cause of the journey of
Colonel Stewart and the consuls, and which virtually sealed the
fate of Khartum. Bruce calls them " a thieving, pilfering set,"
but none of them were met with by the Nile Expedition, and I
can only suggest that they are like the Ja'alin, of mixed Arab
and Nuba descent.
The SJvukrCyeh is a large tribe of nomads between the Atbara
and the Blue Nile ; the name is of Arab formation, but nothing
is known of the history of the tribe. They remained neutral
under their Sheikh, Muhammad Aud el Kerim, and have always
held aloof from the Mahdi and the western Arabs.
The Baggarah tribes of Kordofan, so called from their being
great cattle owners and breeders, are true nomad Arabs; they
have intermarried little with the Nuba, and have preserved most
of their national characteristics. The date of their appearance
in the Sudan is uncertain ; they appear to have drifted up the
c 2
20 SIR C. W. WILSON.— On the Tribes of the
Nile Valley and to have dispossessed the original Nuba popula-
tion and driven it to the hills. The Dughaim was, as we have
seen, on the left bank of the Nile between Assiiit and Assuan
in the 14th century, and the Jeheineh in Upper Egypt in the
15th century; of the other tribes we have no record. The true
Baggarah tribes use oxen for saddle and pack animals; they carry
no shield, and their arms are the lance and the sword. The
men are perfect types of physical beauty, with fine heads, erect
athletic bodies, and sinewy limbs ; they are hunters and warriors,
and are much superior to the indigenous races in mental power.
They constituted the real fighting force of the Mahdi, and charged
the English squares at Abu Klea and Gubat with the greatest
determination. It was these tribes that destroyed Hicks' army,
captured Obeid, and inflicted most of the defeats on the Egyptian
Army ; and their decision to follow the Mahdi out of their own
country to Khartum caused the fall of that place. The Baggarah
have never been properly studied, and even the names of the
tribes are uncertain ; those best known are : —
Hawazma or Hawazim. — South of Obeid. Sh. Nawwai.
Kenana. — South-west of Abu Haraz ; fought at Abu Klea
and were almost annihilated ; in 1821 they were south of
Sennar.
Dughaim. — Borders of Darfiir ; lost heavily at Abu Klea.
Habanieh.
Beni Jerar. — South-west of Khartum. Sh. Ibrahim Wad el
Melia.
Mahalia.
Bedayriah. — North-north-west of Obeid.
Hadiyat.
Bizegat. — South-east of Dara.
Hamr. — West of Obeid, are really not Baggarah, as they own
large herds of camels, and used to be carriers of goods between
Darfiir and Obeid. They have a blood feud with th e Kabbabish.
Jawamiah. — Lost many men at El Gubat.
Jalidat.
Majanin.
Fedayan.
Howara. — Sh. Abdul Kadi Abu Hasneh.
Ta'aysheh. — Darfiir. Sh. Abdullah of this tribe succeeded
the Mahdi, and appears to be one of the most energetic of the
Arab leaders.
Jeheineh. — Darfiir ; were in Upper Egypt in Macrizi's time,
beginning of 15th century. A branch of the tribe, the Kufye or
Eifaa is south of Sennar.
Ma'ali.
Jamah.
Nile Valley, North of Kliarttim. 21
III.— NUba.
The old Arab geographers divided the Niiba country into
Meiys, Baku, and Aloa.1 Merys apparently extended from
Assuan to the head of the cataracts at Hannek ; Baku was the
Dongola district, and Aloa was the Sennar kingdom, of which the
dependencies reached down to the borders of Dongola. Selim
el Assiiani, as quoted by Macrizi, gives some interesting details
of these countries ; Merys, in which the Merysy language was
spoken, was governed by a governor called the " Lord of the
Mountain," who was appointed by the great chief of the Nuba.
Near Berber there was a Bija tribe, Zenafej, which had its own
language, and did not intermarry with the Nuba, but which
received a chief appointed by the Nuba. On the Atbara, how-
ever, the Nuba and Bija intermarried and were called Deyhiin
and Nara. The king of Aloa resided at Souba, of which the
ruins exist at Soba on the Blue Nile ; he wore a gold crown, had
a large army, and was possessed of much power. The people he
ruled over were Christians, whose bishops were nominated by
the Patriarch of Alexandria ; their books were in Greek, which
they translated into their own language, and they had many
churches.2 I have mentioned these details chiefly to show that
for several centuries there was a compact and strong Christian
kingdom in the Sudan, founded and administered by Niibas,
and also as tending to show that the Arab domination in Sennar
must have been very brief, for the new Nuba kingdom was
founded there early in the 16th century. The Nuba are an
essentially agricultural people, and, as far as we know, indigenous
to the country.3 They form the basis of the population of the
Nile Valley from Assuan to Korti, and are widely spread over
Kordofan, Darfiir, and Sennar. Between Assuan and Korti, the
terms Nuba and Bija are still in use to distinguish the Eotana
from the To-Bedawiet speaking people. Eotana, the name used
to distinguish the Nuba language, has passed into Sudan Arabic
as a verb, and the people use it in the sense of " to rotan " in
Turkish, English, &c. The Nuba of the Nile Valley are divided
into three sections — the Kemis, Mahass, and Danaglas, all
speaking Rotana with certain dialectic differences ; the dialects
of the first and last agree more nearly with each other than they
do with that of Mahass : and this last again more nearly ap-
1 See note, p. 4.
2 There is also a rjcord of an important Nuba embassy which was sent in
great state to Baghdad by the Nuba king Zakarya ibn Bahnas, under his son
Fayrakeh.
3 Selim el Assuani eays that Salba, the forefather of the Nubas, and Mokry cf
the Mokras, came from Yemen, and were descended from Hemyar ; also that the
Nubas and Mokras spoke different languages. The present representatives oJ;
the Mokras are not known.
22 SIR C. W. WILSON.— On the Tribes of the
preaches the language of the Nuba of Kordofan, who represent
the original stock.
The Keniis apparently take their name from the Beni Kens,1
a branch of the Eabya tribe which entered Egypt with Amr,
and took part in the conquest ; some of the Aleykat also settled
in the Keniis district, which extends from Assuan to Wady
Haifa ; and so also did the Bosniacs who came up the river
during Sultan Selim's reign, and many Turks and Albanians
since that time. In several villages the large admixture of
foreign blood has greatly modified the Nuba type, but in manner
and habit the people are still Nuba. The Mahdi was descended
from a Beni Kens family which emigrated two or three genera-
tions ago to Dongola ; he hence claimed descent from the Koreish
tribe, but in feature and colour his family could not be distin-
guished from the surrounding Nuba.
The Mahass, who claim descent from the Koreish are really of
purer Nuba blood than the Keniis and Danaglas ; the reason of
this seems to be that until the recent operations all traffic, or
nearly all, up the Nile went by the left bank and hardly touched
Mahass. The Mahass repudiate all relationship with the Keniis
and the Danaglas, but on the other hand they claim kinship
with the Ja'alin, and I heard from other sources of a Mahass
settlement in the Ja'alin country not far north of Khartum.
The Mahass never marry slave girls as the Keniis and the
Danaglas do, and this has also tended to keep their blood
pure.
The Danaglas or Dongolese were, before the Memliik invasion,
always governed by the Zubeir family, of which the present
representative is Tombol ibn Zubeir, the Melik of Argo, and
were tributary to Sennar. They have a large admixture of Arab,
Turk, and slave blood, but except in Ordeh, where Eotana is not
spoken, they are Nuba in type and language. The Danaglas
are great agriculturists, and they have followed the Egyptians
to various places in Kordofan, such as Bara, which, by their
skill in irrigation, they have turned into fertile oases. They are
also acute and intelligent traders, and the most pertinacious and
active of slave hunters and slave dealers. Egyptian misgovern-
ment and over-taxation having ruined the country and forced
a large portion of the agricultural population to leave, their
place has partially been supplied by slave labour, and it is cal-
culated that nearly two-thirds of the population of the Dongola
province is slave.
To the Nuba race belong the Ghodyat and other tribes that
form the mass of the agricultural population of Kordofan ; the
1 The Beni Kens are said to have first conquered Dongola and built a mosque
there.
Nile Valley, North of Kliartum. 23
Kungara of Darfiir ; and I believe the sedentary population of
Sennar. Eacial purity is, however, best preserved by the tribes
of Jebel Daier, J. Takalla, and Dar Nuba. In these mountain
fastnesses the Nuba have maintained their independence against
Arab and Egyptian, and on the terraced hill- sides they have
grown sufficient corn for their simple wants. During the
supremacy of the Funnlyeh kings of Sennar, when the Arab
tribes were kept under control by an army of negroes, the Nuba
had greater freedom of movement, and there is a Nuba settle-
ment between Debbeh and Abu Gussi, which only established
itself on the Nile at the commencement of the present century.
The Nuba are lighter than the Negro, and darker than the
Arab ; their noses are less flat, their lips less thick, their cheek
bones less projecting than the negroes ; and their hair is not
woolly but curled and wiry. The character of the Nuba, and
their habits have been pictured by a master hand, that of Burck-
hardt, and I need say no more than that I agree with him that
they are " a people of frolic, folly, and levity ; avaricious, trea-
cherous, and malicious ; ignorant and base ; and full of wicked-
ness and lechery."
Explanation of Plate I.
Sketch-map, shewing the distribution of the tribes in the Nile
Valley, north of Khartum.
DISCUSSION.
MAJOR C. M. WATSON, R.E., said that he could add but little to the
very interesting paper which Sir C. Wilson had read, and which
contained so much information with regard to the various tribes in
the Eastern Sudan. It is worthy of note that there have been two
distinct lines of immigration from the East into the Nile Valley, the
one by way of the Isthmus of Suez, and the other across the Bed
Sea from the Arabian coast. So far as one can judge, the former
was the most ancient route, and the Ababdeh Arabs, whose ances-
tors probably came that way were in the country long before the
Amarars, Hadendoa, and Beni Amer, who regard themselves as
having crossed at a comparatively recent period. The two former
tribes speak the Tobedawi, or, as they call it themselves, the Bedy
language, while the Beni Amer talk a dialect akin to Tigre. This
seems natural when it is remembered that before the Turkish con-
quest of the Red Sea Coast, the Abyssinian kingdom, or, at all
events, the Abyssinian suzerainty extended as far north as Suakin.
Pilgrims from Abyssinia to Jerusalem used, at that time, to be
escorted by Abyssinian troops to Suakia, where they took an Arab
escort, who conducted them across the Bisharin mountains to the
Nile.
24 Disciission.
The Morghani family, of whom Sir C. Wilson spoke, are well
worthy of notice. They believe themselves to have originally
come from Bokhara, and certainly the leading members are
decidedly Mongol in appearance. The family is the head of the
great Morghani sect, which has up to the present exerted so
powerful an influence throughout the Sudan, an influence which in
the late troubles was always exerted against the rebellion and in
favour of peace. The late Seyid Osman El Morghani did all that
lay in his power to prevent the spread of the rebellion in the
vicinity of Kassala, and his two sisters, who lived at Shendy, did
all they could to assist General Gordon. It is worthy of note, and
is a proof of the influence of Morghanis that although these two
ladies have always been openly opposed to the Mahdi and lived in
a district in which most of the inhabitants joined his cause, yet they
have been respected and uninjured up to the present time. The
conduct of the Morghani sect compares favourably with that of
the Senoussi to whom Sir C. Wilson also alluded as having so
much influence in the northern parts of Africa and who have
positions of influence on the roads leading from Tripoli, Tunis,
and Algiers to the interior. The Senoussi are very fanatical, and
are strongly opposed both to Christians and to Turks, whom they
appear to regard as debased followers of Islam. As all accounts
tend to show that the sect of the Senoussi is spreading and its
influence is increasing, we shall probably hear more of them
later on.
CAPTAIN C. B. CONDEE, B.E., remarked that it would be presump-
tion on his part to say anything much after the exhaustive and
valuable paper just read, since he had served only in Lower Egypt
and had no special knowledge of the Sudan tribes. Two points,
however, struck him in the paper, and one point in Major
Watson's speech.
The practice among the Nuba tribes of tracing descent from the
mother, recalls the ancient practice of Arabia on which Professor
Robertson Smith has written a learned work and which is sup-
posed to be connected with primitive polyandry. It has always
seemed to the speaker that there was no evidence that these two
customs ever prevailed among Semitic peoples ; and that the poly-
androus people mentioned by Strabo in Southern Arabia, must
probably like the Nuba, have belonged to a Hamitic or Cushite race,
akin perhaps to the non-Semitic Cossai or Cutheans of Elam,
whose name is said to mean "dark," and whose coloured representa-
tion as a dark, straight-haired race has been discovered it is said on
bas reliefs by M. Dieulafoy at Susa. This dark race called the
Aithiops of Asia, by Herodotus (who says they differed from the
Ethiopians of Africa, in having straight instead of curly hair) was
perhaps distantly connected with the Akkadians and with the
Hittites, and according to Lenormant with the Dravidians of India.
Is it not possible that the Nuba may be a branch of this race,
which crossed over, as the Arabs also did, from Southern Arabia
Discussion. 25
into the Sudan ? We have much evidence of such migration from
Arabia, not only in the traditions of the tribes, or in history, but
also in the derivation of the Amharic and .^Ethiopic alphabets from
the old alphabet of Yemen.
The second point concerns the name of the Jahalin. Sir C.
Wilson will remember that there is a tribe so called in Southern
Palestine, between Beersheba and the Dead Sea, and while in-
vestigating the meaning of the word, Captain Conder found it was
connected with Jahl " ignorant " or " simple," a term used by
Moslems to signify those who lived before Islam, and who were
" ignorant " of the truth. Possibly the name shows that the
Jahalin are an archaic people, who were so named by Moslem
Arabs at a time when they themselves were non-Moslems, just as
Kafir (Caffre) is an Arab name for the Bantu peoples of South
Africa, signifying " Pagans," and not a real ethnical title.1
Major Watson mentioned that the Morghani family came from
Bokhara. This is the centre from which many of the secret
Moslem societies (Dervish orders) have spread ; as for instance, the
Bektashi. The freemasonry of the Dervish orders is well known,
and the Morghani influence appears to show that they form such a
religious order, although they are not one of the " regular " orders,
of which there are more than forty. The influence of these orders
if properly used might be made one of the best resources of
sympathetic native government in the East.
Mr. BouvERiE-PusEY and the PRESIDENT also joined in the dis-
cussion.
Sir CHARLES WILSON said in reply that he could not agree with
Major Watson that the To-Bedawiet speaking tribes were Arab
(Semitic), though they have many Arab customs, common to all
nomads, and the Sheikh families are of Arab origin. They may,
however, have belonged to a Hamitic race in Southern Arabia,
and have, as Captain Conder suggests, emigrated thence to the
Sudan. With regard to the origin of the name Ja'alin, that which
the author had given, on the authority of Mr. Van Dyck, who was
well acquainted with the tribes of Palestine, and the peculiarities
of Syrian Arabic, was he thought correct.
1 Is not Bedu or fobedawi, the language of the "desert" (as the words in
Arabic would imply), showing that it is the tongue of the dwellers in the desert
as distinguished from the Arabic of the towns and of the settled country ?
26 PROF. D. FERRIEH. — On the Functional
FEBRUARY 22ND, 1887.
FRANCIS GALTON, Esq., F.E.S., President, in the Chair.
The Minutes of the last meeting were read and signed.
The election of JOSEPH STRAKER, Esq., LL.B., of 10, King's
Bench Walk, Temple, was announced.
The following presents were announced, and thanks voted to
the respective donors : —
FOR THE LIBRARY.
From DR. G. A. COLINI. — Cronaca del Museo Preistorico ed Etno-
grafico di Roma. 1884, 5, 6.
From the AUTHOR. — Report on the Human Crania and other bones
of the Skeletons collected during the voyage of H.M.S.
" Challenger," in the years 1873-1876. By William Turner,
M.B., LL.D.
The Physical Anthropology of the Isle of Man. By John
Beddoe, M.D., F.R.S.
Le antiche stazioni umane dei dintorni di Cracovia e del
comune di Breonio Veronese. Nota del L. Pigorini.
From the ACADEMY. — Atti della Reale Accademia dei Lincei.
1885-86. Rendiconti. Vol. II. Fas. 12.
From the BATAVIAASCH GENOOTSCHAP VAN KUNSTEN EN WETEN-
SCHAPPEN. — De vestiging van het Nederlandsche Gezag over de
Banda-eilanden.
Realia. Deel III.
From the EDITOR. Nature. Nos. 902-903.
Science. Nos. 208-210.
Photographic Times. Nos. 281-2.
Revue d'Ethnographie. 1886. No. 5.
L'Homme. 1886. No. 23.
Professor FERRIER delivered a verbal address of which the
following is an abstract : —
On the FUNCTIONAL TOPOGRAPHY of the BRAIN.
By Professor D. FERRIER, M.D., F.R.S.
DR. FERRIER opened a discussion 011 the question, How far
recent investigations on the functional topography of the brain
could be brought in relation with craniological and anthro-
pological researches with a view to establish the foundations of a
scientific phrenology ? The subject seemed to him to fall
naturally under three heads :
Topography of the Brain. 27
1. How far can we yet speak of a functional topography or
localisation of function in the brain as having been
established ?
2. How far is it possible by anatomical investigation of the
brain to form an estimate of the powers or capacities
of the individual ?
3. How far can we arrive at the same result by examination
of the cranium of head of the individual ?
In respect to the first head, he said it was now almost universally
accepted — in opposition to the doctrines of Flourens — that there
were definite regions of the brain specially, if not exclusively,
concerned with specific functions in the domain of motion or
sensation. He then proceeded to describe the position of the
various centres of sensation and motion according to the lines
laid down in his work on the "Functions of the Brain " (1886).
But only one of the aspects of brain function, viz., the physio-
logical, had been determined. The other, or psychological
aspect, the correlations between the physiological and psycho-
logical, and the anatomical substrata of the brain, were yet far
from being clear. And yet until these correlations were definitely
established, we could not consider a practical flesh-and-blood
psychology applicable to the needs of the physician or anthro-
pologist as having any existence.
The phenomena of disease, specially those relating to aphasia,
indicated that the sensory and motor centres, besides being the
medium of sensation and voluntary motion., were also the
centres of registration and reproduction of our conscious expe-
rience and motor acquisitions ; and of these in their respective
cohesions and accompaniments, the fabric of mind was to be
constructed.
Passing to the second head, he remarked that the determination
of functional capacity from anatomical investigation of the brain
involved many considerations and difficulties. Mere size of parts
could not be considered a satisfactory criterion. We require to
know something respecting the size of the individual, and the
relation of brain to the sectional area of the nerves with which
it was connected. We require to know, also, something as to the
activity of the circulation and tissue change. And above all, we
require to know much respecting the structure of the grey matter,
its cells, processes, &c. Supposing all these points determined,
then we might say that there is a relation between the size of a
given region and the function with which it is related. He
illustrated this point by reference to the facts of comparative
anatomy, more particularly as regards the sense of smell, and
also by local atrophies induced by congenital absence or early
28 Discussion.
removal of organs of sense and motion. And he then went on
to consider, in detail, what might be indicated in a physiological
and psychological view by relatively high development of
particular regions. As to the frontal lobes, he expressed his
belief that they were related to the higher intellectual faculties
by forming the substrata of attention.
On the third head, he remarked that the difficulties as to the
determination of capacity were greater than those involved
under the second head. For though the skull might be con-
sidered as a mould of the brain, yet it was impossible to
determine from the skull alone, whether the brain were sound
or not; and all the finer complexities of convolution and details
of structure were beyond our ken. Mere obvious differences
in size of different lobes and regions were all that could be
made out by craniological examination. That great differences
did exist there was no doubt, and he instanced cases of idiocy
and infantile cerebral disease in which marked abnormalities and
asymmetries of the skull were very evident, and confirmatory of
the conclusions as to the localisation of function otherwise
determined.
In determining the greater or less degree of development of
particular regions, they had as their guide the cranio-cerebral
researches of Broca, Turner, and others. Whether these were as
yet fine enough for the anthropologist, though perhaps sufficient
for the surgeon, might, however, be questioned.
He described by reference to diagrams what had been deter-
mined in respect to the position of the main lobes, fissures and
convolutions. In conclusion, he remarked that the data of a
scientific phrenology were, as yet, very deficient ; but there was
reason to believe that if the subject were taken up from
different points of view, by the anatomist, physiologist, psycho-
logist, and anthropologist, great progress might be made.
DISCUSSION.
The following notes were sent by Dr. LAUDEE BRUNTON, F.R.S.,
subsequently to the meeting : —
As regards the possible change in the shape of the skull from
development of the different centres, it seems to me that if a
cortical centre expands in all directions, the number of cells in the
longitudinal direction being much greater than in the transverse
direction, the actual longitudinal increase will be much greater
than the transverse, the proportional increase to the original size
being the same. The development of the visual centre will thus
tend to raise the vertex and elongate the head from above down-
wards, while the development of the auditory centre will tend to
push the occiput backwards, and elongate the head in an antero'
Discussion.
29
posterior direction.1 Whether the development of the tactile centre
will render the head broader or not I could not be sure, but it seems
to me that this is just possible. I have tried by the accompanying
diagram to make my meaning more clear.
DIAGUAM OF BEA1N
Showing how an increase in the visual or in the auditory centre might change
the shape of the skull.
¥. E. — The fissure of Eolando.
F. S.— The fissure of Silvius.
a. — The visual centre.
b. — The auditory centre.
A. — Dotted line, showing how an increase of a might change the shape of
the skull.
B. — Broken line, showing effect of increase of b.
I think one may with advantage take into account that through-
out the animal kingdom generally, or at least among mammalia
generally, the part of the male is to go out and find food for the
family, while that of the female is to rear the young ones.
Corresponding with the different division of labour between the
male and female we may expect to find a different distribution
of qualities, and consequently a different development of the
centres in the brain. The duties of the male require development
of motor power rather than of sensory ; those of the female
require sensation, and what may be regarded as based upon
sensation, emotion rather than motor power. I do not know
whether in mammals generally we find greater development of the
motor centres as compared with the sensory in the male, and of
the sensory as compared with the motor in the female. I think,
however, that this is the case to a certain extent in the human race,
and that if we compare the skull of a man with that of a woman we
1 These ideas do not appear, however, to be well supported by a case which
Benedict (" Neurologisches Centralblatt," 1886, No. 10) records of congenital
blindness in which the ejes were healthy and the blindness probably depended
on imperfect development of the cerebral centres for vision. The occiput in this
case was abnormally flat.
30 Discussion.
find that the former is more largely developed anteriorly, and the
latter posteriorly.
Dr. RAYNEB remarked that one great difficulty in arriving at an
estimate of the mental powers and characteristics of individuals
from an external examination of the head, arose from the great
diversities of shape in disease, and even in apparent health ; a
skull which the speaker had a recent opportunity of examining
was enormously scapho-cephalic, apparently from premature arrest
of development of the frontal bone ; in that case the relations of
the subjacent brain to its bone covering would have been very
different from that which usually attains. In spite of this and
other difficulties, he believes that it would be ultimately possible to
arrive by external examination at a conclusion, in the majority
of instances, in regard to the mental characteristics of an in-
dividual.
Sir JAMES CRICHTON BROWNE, Mr. BOUVKRIE-PUSEY, Prof.
THAN.E, Prof. FLOWER, and the PRESIDENT also took part in the
discussion.
Mr. HYDE CLARKE not having the opportunity of speaking at the
close, said he should put his communication in writing. He supported
Professor Ferrier's doctrine, that energy or rapidity of thought is an
important factor, and referred to the result of his own experiment
of fifty years ago, recorded in the " Journal of the British
Association," 1870, and in that of the Statistical Society.1 In con-
firmation of the Professor's statement that the range in the same
individual may greatly vary, he points out that in this case the
difference (p. 359) was 25 or 100, or between 1 and 4 in the same
individual within ten days. With regard to the Professor's
deductions as to men and animals in the matter of speech language,
and particularly as to aphasia in men and non-imitation of speech
by animals, the attention of the Professor was called to the origin
and position of speech language. His postulate was that speech
language is a natural and original attribute of man. If, however,
there had been an epoch of gesture or sign language antecedent to
the origin and development of speech language, then the latter
could not be regarded as primary. The state of gesture language
was gone through by most infants, and in some cases, though able
to articulate, they remained in this state of mutes until five, six, or
seven vears old. They would understand, as many a dog does,
words addressed to them, but would not communicate by speech
even with their speaking brothers and sisters.
His own observations upon the mutes of the Seraglio, at Con-
stantinople, and upon other examples of gesture language showed
him that within its limits, gesture competed well with speech, and
he considered that the gesture of the mutes was quite equal to
ordinary spoken Chinese for communication. The development of
the faculty of speech might lead to a greater development of the
1 1871, page 359,
Discussion. 31
nerve organs of speech and hearing, while psychologically speech in
man became the means of creating a greater nnmber of verbal and
other ideas and impressions. In gesture language hearing counted
for very little, sight being used instead. Indeed there was ample
field for experiment. It was difficult to conceive that animals did not
speak from defect of attention, as deposed by the Professor. The
cat or the dog exhibits the quality of attention in a high degree
when watching for prey. Many animals are imitative of others,
as, for instance, the cat in imitation of the dog. That animals
communicate to some extent with each other must be admitted,
.but the subject is obscured by the assumption that speech must be
the vehicle of communication. In the case of the two trained
French pointers that were exhibited some thirty years ago before
the Fellows of the Linnaean Society, when the Bishop of Norwich
was President, their extraordinary performances were little guided
by sound, but by signs, which they most sagaciously followed.
Indeed, in the training of all performing animals direction by signs
played a chief part. The mind of such animals as the dog must
be the same as that of men, and of the same types psychologically,
as the diagrams of the Professor showed it was physiologically, and
the conditions depended as strictly on the relative development, as
distinctly indeed as did the special development of the sense of
smell. The distinction from men lay in that development, and in the
registration of the verbal ideas of speech. Hence the more com-
plex convolutions and details of the brain of the civilised man.
The number of ideas registered or impressed did not depend on
conscious thought, but also on unconscious thought, of which law
he himself had been the first discoverer, though Dr. W. B.
Carpenter .obtained prior publication, and who named it unconscious
cerebration. The subject of registration taken in hand for in-
vestigation by Professor Ferrier was a most important one, and
one as obscure as any other portion of the subject, and it might be
said as wonderful. To a certain extent the experiments and in-
vestigations of Professor Graham Bell and of Professor Hughes,
as to the physical registration of sounds had of late years prepared
the way for the study of the registration of ideas. A record of
sounds could be made to reproduce those sounds, whether of
speech or of music, at a later and distant period. He much
regretted that the Anthropological Institute had hitherto taken
so small a part in investigations, of the importance and value of
which Professor Ferrier had that evening given convincing
evidence. He regretted that the section for comparative psycho-
logy, of which he had been appointed chairman some years ago,
had not been allowed to act, as members had unfortunately taken
up the spiritualistic practices, to which Sir Crichton Browne had
referred. What was wanted was observations in every branch of
natural history on man and animals, for the animal physiologically
and psychologically often supplied better illustrations than did the
human being.
32 H. D. EOLLESTON. — Description of the Cerebral
The following paper was then read by the author : —
DESCRIPTION of the CEREBRAL HEMISPHERES of an ADULT
AUSTRALIAN MALE.
By H. D. EOLLESTON, B.A., Scholar of St. John's College,
Cambridge, Junior Demonstrator of Physiology in the
University.
[WITH PLATE ii.]
THIS communication is divided into three parts: (1) a few
general remarks ; (2) a detailed summary of the two hemis-
pheres together ; and (3) a description of the two hemispheres
separately, with the depths of the fissures and sulci.
General Remarks.
The interest attaching to the study and examination of the
brains of the lower races of mankind is briefly summed up in
the phrase, " brain as an organ of mind." The problems that
come before us are attractive, and, to a certain extent, admit of
an answer. "What material differences are there between the
brain of an educated moral man and that of a sensual,, animal-
like savage ? What correlation is there between the physical
conformation of the cerebral hemispheres and the mental develop-
ment of their owner ?
This brain of an adult male Australian is of interest, then,
from its being that of a primitive man.
The Australian came to the hospital at Adelaide, and on his
death from peritonitis, his head was cut off and despatched in
spirit by Professor Watson to Professor Macalister, to whose
great kindness I am indebted for this opportunity of describing
such an interesting brain.
On removing the brain it was found to weigh 31 ounces. A
fresh brain if weighed before and after lying in spirit will be
found to lose weight. Therefore, to obtain the weight in the
recent condition, a certain percentage must be added to the
actual weight of a brain which has been for some time in spirit.
Marshall ("Phil. Trans.," 1864) adds seven twenty-fourths (the
mean between one-third and one-fourth) of the weight obtained,
and thus obtains the probable weight in the recent condition.
Dr. Thurnum (" Journal of Mental Science," April, 1866) allows
29 per cent, for shrinkage in spirit.
The Anthropological Society of Paris adds 38 per cent, of the
weight of the brain, and this result is more likely to approximate
to the truth, for it must be remembered that about 80 per cent,
of the weight of a fresh brain is due to water, the removal of
o
c
Hemispheres of an Adult Australian Male. 33
which by alcohol accounts for the greatly shrunken condition of
brains preserved in spirit.
Adding, then, 38 per cent, of the actual weight (31 ounces),
the resulting weight of 43 ounces may be taken as representing,
with a fair approach to accuracy, the weight of the brain at the
time of death.
So far very few Australian brains have been weighed :* the
average of six was found to be 41 ounces, two of these brains, it
should be noted, are those of females.1
The weight of the brain as a racial character is a subject
which has attracted a good deal of attention, and as the result of
colossal tables, it may be taken that the average European
brain weight in males is 49 ounces, the average weight of the
negro race is about 44'3 ounces,2 which it will be seen is in
excess of that of the primitive Australian.
The age of the Australian was unknown, but his face, which
is preserved in the anatomical museum of the University of
Cambridge, shows no sign of age, but appears to be that of a man
about the prime of life.
If the convolutions of this Australian brain be compared with
those of an average European brain the simplicity of the former
is at once thrown into relief.
The convolutions of the frontal lobe, which is connected with
intellectual processes, are seen to have a marked antero-posterior
arrangement, to be four instead of three in number, and to be
separate, not to join each other at every turn and twist, as is so
notably the case in the described brains of many eminent men,
and generally in the more civilised nations.
This simplicity of the frontal region is a point of importance,
and may be considered as characteristic of a primitive brain.
The frontal lobe being associated with higher faculties, it has been
thought that the relation of amount of brain substance in front
and behind the fissure of Kolando is of almost equal importance
with the features mentioned above ; but in this brain the relation
of amount of brain substance in front and behind the fissure of
Eolando was much the same as in an average European brain.
It has also been thought that the prse-auricular development
of brain is of importance from the same point of view, but this
requires working out.
1 Dr. Thurnum ("On Weight of Brain," "Journal of Mental Science," April,
1866), gives the ratio of the cubic capacity of male Australian skulls to European
as 85 : 100. Now, the average brain weight of an European, according to Welcker,
is 49 ounces, and assuming that the relation between cubic capacity of the skull
and brain weight is approximately true, the brain weight of Australians would be
41'6 ounces. It will be seen that this deduction agrees fairly well with the result
obtained in the brain under notice by adding 38 per cent, of the actual weight.
2 Thurnum : loc. cit.
VOL. XVII. D
34 H. D. ROLLESTON. — Description of the Cerebral
Throughout the convolutions this denned condition will be
seen, and especially is this the case as regards the occipital
lobe. Gratiolet, in his " Memoire sur les plis c^rebraux de
rhomme et des Primates," insisted on the importance of the " plis
de passage," or annectant gyri, in a differential diagnosis between
them, and it was stated that in the Chimpanzee the first and
second annectant gyri were depressed below the surface of the
cortex, while the third and fourth remained in a superficial
position.
Leaving this somewhat disputed point,1 it is interesting to note
in the human cerebral hemispheres under discussion that there
is a tendency to depression and suppression of the third and fourth
annectant gyri, while the first and second annectant gyri, though
small, retain their superficial situation. In the brain of the
Bushwoman described by Marshall ("Phil. Trans.," 1864), the
annectant gyri were found to be small and single.
The anomalous fissures in the temporo-sphenoidal lobe (more
marked on the left side) which tend to cut off the temporo-
sphenoidal lobe, or more exactly, the middle and inferior temporo-
sphenoidal convolutions from the third and fourth annectant gyri,
and in turn to separate the third and fourth annectant gyri (or
the cortex representing them) from the occipital lobe, are described
in detail in the following pages and figured in PI. II, figs. 1
and 2.
An anomalous transverse fissure which' divides the postero-
parietal lobule into an anterior and a posterior part is note-
worthy.
.Perhaps the most noticeable feature in this brain is the great
reduction in size of the cuneate lobule and the great development
of the parieto-occipital fissure, which is seen to contain the
inner part of the cuneate lobe, and also part of the calcarine
fissure. Vide PI. II, figs. 3 and 4.
In the plates of Marshall's "Bushwoman," the cuneus is
depicted as decidedly smaller than in an European brain, but
bigger than in this brain; in his description of two idiots' brains
it is described as being extremely small.
After noting the simplicity of the general arrangement of the
convolutions it is interesting to observe that the angular gyms
is the most convoluted part of the hemisphere, and that the
uncinate gyrus, another local habitation of special sense, is not
only actually bigger in this shrunken brain than in an average
European, but has a blind sulcus placed in it. (Figs. 3
and 4.)
1 Tide Turner, " Proc. Royal Soc. Edinburgh," 1865-6. Rolleston, "Jfat.
Hist. Review," 1861. Article I.
Hemispheres of an Adult Australian Male. 35
Detailed Summary of loth Hemispheres.
Lobes. — Frontal, arrangement simple, tendency to have four
longitudinal instead of the usual three frontal gyri is perhaps
worth notice. The general absence of secondary gyri is with
two other features a primitive condition.
The transverse frontal sulcus is well developed, but does not
run into the horizontal limb of the fissure of Sylvius, as is often
the case when well developed.
Orbital surface has its gyri simple and the sulci somewhat
shallow, but asymmetrical.
Simplicity of orbital surface is characteristic of primitive
brains.
The sulcus of Eolando is confluent with the longitudinal
fissure.
The island of Reil is exposed on left side, this exposure is a
condition found in primitive brains ; thus Marshall (" Phil.
Trans.," 1864) figures it in the brain of a Bush woman, and quotes
other examples. The exposure of the island of Reil implies that
the surrounding gyri are ill-developed, Broca's convolution is
thus shown to be defective, a point of interest in an Australian
savage whose language is primitive as shown by its unclassified
character.
Parietal. — The postero-parietal lobule is divided into (a) an
anterior ; and (&) a posterior portion, by a transverse sulcus which
starts from the longitudinal fissure, 12 mm. behind the end of
the calloso-marginal sulcus, and 25 mm. in front of the external
parieto-occipital fissure.
The supra-marginal gyrus is cut off from the ascending
parietal gyrus by the confluence of the interparietal sulcus and
the horizontal limb of the fissure of Sylvius.
This continuity of the interparietal sulcus and the horizontal
limb of the fissure of Sylvius is one of the many examples in
this brain of the defined and separated state of the convolutions.
The absence of a gyrus crossing the lower end of the interparietal
sulcus and joining the ascending parietal and supra- marginal
gyri, means less grey matter and therefore a lower potentiality.
A like condition is described by Gratiolet in a Bushwoman,
and figured by Marshall on the left side of the Bushwoman's
brain described by him ("Phil. Trans.," 1864).
The angular gyrus is the most convoluted part of the hemi-
sphere. In Marshall's " Bushwoman " the angular gyrus was
found to be decidedly defective.
Occipital. — The third and fourth annectant gyri, more especially
on the left side, have but a slight connection superficially either
with the occipital or the temporo-sphenoidal lobes.
D 2
36 H. D. BOLLESTON. — Description of the Cerebral
The external parieto occipital fissure is small and bifurcated at
its origin. In the Quadrumana this fissure is much more marked,
and in human brains it has been seen stretching two inches
transversely outwards (Turner, " Convolutions of Human Cere-
brum," page 12). It is of interest to note in this primitive brain
no approach as regards this point to condition in Quadrumana.
The occipital lobes completely hid from view the cerebellum
when the encephalon was viewed from above, at one time this
was thought to be an important point in estimating brain power
in different types, but it has been shown to be quite destitute of
any importance.
Temporo-sphenoidal lobe. — The most notable feature is the
presence on both sides of two anomalous transverse sulci, which
tend to cut off the middle and inferior temporo-sphenoidal
gyri from the third and fourth annectant gyri, and also to limit
superficially the connection between the third and fourth
annectant gyri on the one hand, and the occipital lobe on the
other.
As these anomalous sulci are not entirely symmetrical, it may
be as well to describe them briefly.
On the left side the anterior of these two transverse sulci
(a, vide fig. 1, PL II) arises from the inferior temporo-sphenoidal
sulcus, 7 cm. behind the most anterior extremity of the temporo-
sphenoidal lobe, and runs into the parallel sulcus, thus it cuts off
the middle and inferior temporo-sphenoidal gyri from their
natural continuation, the third and fourth annectant gyri.
The posterior transverse sulcus (b, fig. 1) arises from the
lateral, 34 cm. behind the anterior one, and runs almost into the
parallel fissure, thus tending to cut off the superficial connection
between the third and fourth annectant gyri and the occipital
lobe.
On the right side the anterior of these sulci (a, fig, 2) is
represented by an oblique limb of the parallel sulcus directed
backwards and downwards, which joins the inferior longitudinal
sulcus at the point where the posterior transverse sulcus (b,
fig. 2) arises. This point is 9'5 cm. distant from the most
anterior extremity of the temporo-sphenoidal lobe. On both
sides the posterior sulcus ends blindly, but it is much smaller on
the right side.
Tentorial surface of the, temporo-sphenoidal and occipital lobes. —
The collateral fissure is asymmetrical.
The calcarine fissure, shallow posteriorly, deepens and first
joining the internal parieto-occipital fissure then becomes sub-
merged in it. ( Vide figs. 3 and 4.)
Depending on the rapid junction of the calcarine and internal
parieto-occipital fissures the cuneate lobe is very small.
Hemispheres of an Adult Australian Male. 37
On opening the continuation of the internal parieto-occipital
fissure the cuneate lobe is seen to lie submerged in it.
The fact that the uncinate gyrus was decidedly bigger than
normal is noticeable. A blind sulcus ran in the anterior part of
the uncinate gyrus from before backwards, and thus divided it
into an internal and an external portion. ( Vide x, in figs. 3 and 4.)
Right Hemisphere.
The greatest horizontal external circumference was 8. inches.
From the point where the sulcus of Rolando opened into the
longitudinal fissure to the most anterior extremity of the frontal
lobe measured 5 inches, while from the former point to the
posterior extremity of the occipital lobe the distance was found
to be 3 1 inches. These measurements are of importance as they
roughly indicate what relation the frontal portion of the brain
mass bears to the rest, the more acute the angle formed by the
two fissures of Rolando opening into the longitudinal fissure the
more highly are the frontal lobes developed, and presumably the
higher the potential intellectual powers.
The horizontal limb of the Sylvian fissure was 3f inches in
length, while the ascending limb measured 1 inch in length.
The external parieto-occipital fissure is bifurcated at its origin,
both its limbs are three-quarters of an inch in length.
Lobes. — Frontal lobe. — The superior middle and inferior frontal
gyri are all continuous anteriorly ; the transverse arrangement is
well shown. Tendency to be four instead of the usual three
longitudinal frontal gyri.
There are no connecting bridges of cortical substance super-
ficially.
The ascending frontal gyrus is joined superficially to the
superior and inferior frontal gyri, its junction with the middle
frontal gyrus is depressed, being deep in the transverse frontal
sulcus.
The transverse frontal sulcus, though well developed, does not
open into the horizontal limb of the fissure of Sylvius as it often
does when well formed.
Orbital surface, an irregular and not very definite tri-radiate
sulcus. The arrangement of the gyri is simple.
Parietal lobe. — The interparietal sulcus opens into the horizontal
limb of the fissure of Sylvius (12'5 mm. deep at this point). It
is not broken across at its anterior superior border by a bridge
of cortical substance as it is on the left side.
The ascending parietal gyrus is connected in the operculum to
the ascending frontal gyrus, but is quite cut off from the supra-
38 H. D. ROLLESTON. — Description of the Cerebral
marginal gyrus by the junction of the interparietal sulcus with
the horizontal limb of the fissure of Sylvius.
The postero-parietal lobule is divided into anterior and posterior
portions by a sulcus parallel to and 1 inch in front of the
external parieto-occipital sulcus (half an inch behind the
end of the calloso-marginal sulcus). This sulcus joins the inter-
parietal sulcus. At the bottom of this anomalous sulcus a small
gyrus rising to the surface is visible. The postero-parietal lobule
is connected by a bridge to the angular gyrus and by the first
annectant gyrus to the superior occipital gyrus.
The supra-marginal gyrus is quite cut off' from the ascending
parietal gyrus by the interparietal sulcus running into the hori-
zontal limb of the fissure of Sylvius. In common with the angular
gyrus it is connected with superior temporo-sphenoidal gyrus.
Angular gyrus is more convoluted than the rest of the hemi-
sphere, it is connected to the posterior portion of the postero-
parietal lobule, and to the superior but not the middle temporo-
sphenoidal gyri.
The place where the second annectant gyrus would naturally
come off is injured, owing to the fact that in the recent state
tbere was a large Pacchionian body there, but it does not look as
if there had been one there.
From the angular gyrus an isolated tongue of cortical substance,
with sulci 8-12 mm. deep on each side of it, runs forward between
(a) the connecting gyrus between the superior temporo-sphenoidal
and the supra-marginal and angular gyri, and (b) the annectant
gyri from the middle and inferior teinporo-spheiioidal gyri.
Occipital lobe. — The three gyri are distinct.
Of the annectant gyri the first is well developed, as to the
second, owing to injuryit is doubtful where it ever existed, the third
annectant gyrus has no superficial origin from the middle
temporo-sphenoidal gyrus. There is no fourth annectant gyrus.
Temporo-sphenoidal lobe. — The parallel sulcus (vide fig. 2)
bifurcates posteriorly, and thus encloses what represents the third
and fourth annectant gyri, the lower limb of the fissure where it
crosses the middle temporo-sphenoidal gyrus is very shallow at
first, but deepens (12 mm.) as it approaches the lateral boundary
where it joins the inferior temporo-sphenoidal sulcus. Across
• this shallow limb the middle temporo-sphenoidal gyrus is con-
tinuous into the third annectant gyrus.
The third annectant gyrus is almost divided into an anterior
and posterior portion by a vertical sulcus (b, fig. 2) which starts
from the inferior temporo-sphenoidal sulcus at the point where
the lower obliquely directed limb of the parallel sulcus joins the
inferior temporo-sphenoidal sulcus. This vertical sulcus is 1 2 mm.
in length. [Compare its greater development on the left side.]
Hemispheres of an Adult Australian Male. 39
Under surface of the temporo-sphenoidal and occipital lobes. —
Gyri eminently antero-posterior in direction.
Collateral fissure is broken up by an irregular communicating
bridge between the uncinate and inferior temporo-occipital gyri.
It does not join the calcarine or the internal parieto-occipital
fissures.
Calcarine fissure (c, fig. 4) arises posteriorly from a shallow
bifurcated origin and runs first into and then becomes sub-
merged in the internal parieto-occipital fissure, so that the
internal part of the calcarine fissure does not open on the surface,
but into the continuation of the internal parieto-occipital fissure.
The cuneate lobe (d, fig. 4) is very small owing to the
junction of the calcarine and internal parieto-occipital fissures so
close to posterior border of the occipital lobe, its greatest breadth
is 12 mm. The cuneate lobe is submerged in the continuation
of the internal parieto-occipital fissure. The cuneate lobe ends
in a submerged tongue which runs across the continuation of
internal parieto-occipital sulcus into the prsecuneus.
The anterior part of the uncinate gyrus is divided into two
portions, internal and external, by a simple blind sulcus
(33 mm. long) which runs in an antero-posterior direction. This
sulcus is 12 mm. in depth. This sulcus is marked with x in
fig. 4.
The inferior occipito-temporal gyrus is more convoluted pos-
teriorly than anteriorly, laterally it is well separated off from
the inferior temporo-sphenoidal gyrus by the inferior temporo-
sphenoidal sulcus.
Left Hemisphere.
The greatest horizontal circumference externally was 8£
inches, while the maximum height was 3£ inches.
Taking a bird's-eye view of the brain it is seen that the anterior
extremity of the frontal lobe is 5^ inches in front of the point
where the fissure of Kolando runs into the longitudinal fissure,
and that this latter point is 3| inches distant from the posterior
extremity of the occipital lobe.
The fissures. — The horizontal limb of the fissure of Sylvius
measured 3| inches in length, while the ascending limb was half
an inch in length, and then bifurcated, at its origin a small
portion of the insula was visible.
The external parieto-occipital fissure was bifurcated at its
origin.
The interparietal sulcus opened into the horizontal limb of the
fissure of Sylvius, it is bridged across at its anterior and superior
border by a gyrus which joins the postero-parietal lobule.
40 H. D. ROLLESTOX. — Description of the Cerebral
The parallel sulcus was far from normal, 2| inches from the
anterior extremity of the temporo-sphenoidal lobe it is joined at
right angles by a sulcus (a, PL II, fig. 1) which arises from the
inferior temporo-sphenoidal sulcus. The second and third
temporo-sphenoidal gyri are thus separated from the third and
fourth annectant gyri. [Compare with so-called bifurcation of
parallel fissure on right sido.]
From this point the parallel fissure is continued posteriorly for
2 inches, it then bifurcates and tends to cut off the occipital
lobe from its third and fourth annectant gyri. At the point
of bifurcation the sulcus is deep, the limbs, however, are
shallow.
The lobes. — Frontal lobe. — The superior middle and inferior
frontal gyri are blended superficially at their anterior extremity,
their arrangement is otherwise simple. It may be worth while
noting that there is a tendency to four instead of usual three
longitudinal gyri.
The ascending frontal gyrus is connected to the superior frontal
by a large bridge, and to the inferior frontal gyrus by a small
bridge, otherwise it is distinct and is not connected to the middle
frontal gyrus.
Orbital surface, smoother than on the right side. The tri-
radiate sulcus is fairly distinct.
The parietal lobe. — The ascending parietal gyrus is quite
isolated except for two small bridges of cortex which connect it,
the one to the ascending frontal gyrus, the other to the postero-
parietal lobule.
The postero-parietal lobule is joined by a small bridge to the
supra-marginal gyrus. Running transversely into the postero-
parietal lobule from the longitudinal fissure is seen a sulcus,
which is, however, not so well developed as the one on the right
side, it does not run into the interparietal sulcus, and hence the
postero-parietal lobule is not divided into two separate halves,
anterior and posterior, as is the case on the other side.
The first annectant gyrus is small superficially.
The supra-marginal gyrus is cut off from the ascending parietal
gyrus by the interparietal sulcus and is joined to the superior
temporo-sphenoidal gyrus by a gyrus (half an inch across). As
mentioned above, a gyrus breaks across the interparietal sulcus
at its anterior superior border to join the postero-parietal lobule.
The angular gyrus is distinct and is better marked off than on
the right side.
The second annectant gyrus is distinct.
In common with the supra-marginal, the angular gyrus is
connected to the superior temporo-sphenoidal, but not to the
middle temporo-sphenoidal gyrus.
Hemispheres of an Adult Australian Male. 41
The occipital lobe. — The sulci separating the three gyri are
distinct.
Of the annectant gyri the first is small while the second is
plainly shown, the first annectant gyrus separates the external
parieto-occipital fissure from a sulcus (1J inches long) directed
transversely outwards.
The third and fourth annectant gyri are almost entirely cut
off from the occipital lobe by a vertically directed sulcus
(b, fig. 1), which arises from the inferior temporo-sphenoidal
sulcus at the lateral boundary. This sulcus is prevented
running into the posterior portion of the parallel sulcus by a
narrow briflge of cortical substance, which is the whole super-
ficial part of the third (and fourth ?) annectant gyri.
Temporo-sphenoidal lobe. — The superior temporo-sphenoidal
gyrus is continuous with the supra-marginal and angular gyri,
at about its centre, the superior temporo-sphenoidal gyrus is cut
across by .a shallow sulcus which connects the horizontal limb
of the fissure of Sylvius and the parallel sulcus described above.
The middle temporo-sphenoidal sulcus, 2f inches from the
anterior extremity of the temporo-sphenoidal lobe ; this sulcus is
cut across by a vertical sulcus running from the parallel sulcus
to .the inferior tempero-sphenoidal sulcus. This anomalous
sulcus cuts off the middle and inferior temporo-sphenoidal gyri
from their natural continuations, the third and fourth annectant
gyri (a, fig. 1).
At a distance of \\ inches behind this anomalous sulcus there
is a vertical sulcus (b, fig. 1) (1 inch in length) which almost
entirely cuts off the occipital lobe from the third and fourth
annectant gyri (vide under occipital lobe).
The inferior tempero-sphenoidal sulcus begins in the anterior
of these two anomalous vertical sulci and runs in the lateral
boundary to the posterior extremity of the brain.
The under surface of the temporo-sphenoidal and occipital lobes.
— The arrangement of the gyri is eminently antero-posterior in
direction.
The collateral fissure bifurcates posteriorly, the internal limb
joins the calcarine fissure.
The calcarine fissure (c, fig. 3) is bifurcated at its origin
posteriorly, it then runs into the internal parieto-occipital fissure
and becomes submerged in the continuation of that fissure.
The cuneate lobe is very small, its greatest breadth is a quarter
of an inch, it is also submerged for part of its extent in the
continuation of the internal parieto-occipital fissure. The cal-
carine fissure is more submerged on this side than on the right
side.
The uncinate gyrus is not very easy of definition posteriorly
42 H. ROLLESTON. — Cerebral Hemispheres of Australian Male.
owing to the fact that the collateral fissure is rather broken
up. The uncinate gyrus is distinctly larger than normal, it
measured a quarter of an inch more than that of a well developed
European brain.
Anteriorly the uncinate gyrus is divided (as on the right side)
into an internal and an external portion by a blind sulcus
(marked x, fig. 3) directed antero-posteriorly. This sulcus (25
mm. long, 6 mm. deep) is not so big as the corresponding one
on the right side.
The inferior temporo-occipital gyrus is well defined laterally
by the inferior temporo-sphenoidal sulcus.
Depths of Fissures and Sulci.
The fissures and sulci were measured in several places. The
number put down is an average. It may be well to say that
the term fissure is reserved for the so-called complete sulci, viz.,
the Sylvian, parieto-occipital, calcarine, collateral, and hippo-
campal. All the rest are sulci.
Eight Left
Fissures : hemisphere. hemisphere.
Sylvian. . . . . . . . 167 mm. 14'5 mm.
Collateral 9'5 9'4
Calcarine 14-3 127
Internal parieto-occipital . . 17'4 19'0
Hippocampal . . . . . . 7'9 9-5
fSrulti :
Eolando 127 127
Interparietal 137 127
Transverse frontal . . . . 127 13'3
Orbital surface. , . . . . 77 4*6
Parallel 16'9 15-8
Middle temporo-sphenoidal . . 9*5 127
Explanation of Plate II.
Fig. 1. Lateral view of left hemisphere of brain of adult male
Australian. For explanation of sulci marked a and
b in figs. 1 and 2, see text.
„ 2. Lateral view of posterior portion of right hemisphere of
the same brain.
„ 3. Tentorial surface of left hemisphere of the same brain.
„ 4. Tentorial surface of right hemisphere. Reference letters
to figs. 3 and 4 ; c, calcarine fissure ; d, cuneate lobe ;
e, internal parieto-occipital fissure ; x, an anomalous
sulcus described in the text.
S. HANSEN . — Fossil Human Skull from Lagoa Santa. 43
The following paper was then read : —
On a FOSSIL HUMAN SKULL from LAGOA SANTA, BRAZIL.
By SOREN HANSEN.
Abstract.
THE author gives good reason for believing that the skull in
question, now in the Geological Department of the Natural
History Section of the British Museum, having formed part of a
collection purchased in 1844 from M. Chaussen, was originally
in the possession of Lund, and is one of a large series obtained
by that explorer in the cave known as Lapa di Lagoa di
Sumadouro, the remainder of which are in the Copenhagen
Museum. As the contents of this cave are much mixed, the
age of any individual specimen found in it can not be deter-
mined with precision, but the author believes that this skull was
contemporaneous with the now extinct mammalian fauna of
the country. It has the same elongated form and general
characters of the other Lagoa Santa skulls, characters which
are repeated in the Botokudos, more nearly than in any other
existing race.
MARCH STH, 1887.
FRANCIS GALTON, Esq., F.E.S., President, in the Chair.
The Minutes of the last ordinary meeting were read and
signed.
The following presents were announced, and thanks voted to
the respective donors : —
FOR THE LIBRARY.
From the AUTHOR. — Social History of the Races of Mankind.
Second Division. Papuo and Malayo Melanesians. By A.
Featherman.
Annual Address to the Asiatic Society, Calcutta, February
2, 1887. By the President, E. T. Atkinson, B.A.
From the GEOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SURVEY OF CANADA. —
Annual Report, 1885.
From the ESSEX FIELD CLUB. — Transactions. Vol. iv, Part 2.
— The Essex Naturalist. Nos. 1, 2.
From the ASSOCIATION. — Journal of the East India Association.
Vol. xix, No. 2.
44 A. L. LEWIS. — Stone Circles near Aberdeen.
From the SOCIETY. — Journal of the Society of Arts. Nos. 1788-9.
Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society. March,
1887.
— Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 1886. Nos.
8,9.
— Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Nos. 271, 272.
From the EDITOR. — Nature. Nos. 904, 905.
Science. No. 211.
- Photographic Times. Nos. 283, 284.
— Scientific News. Vol. I, No. 1.
Kosmos. Vol. I, No. 1.
The following paper was read by the author : —
STONE CIRCLES near ABERDEEN.
By A. L. LEWIS, F.C.A., M.A.I.
[WITH PLATE in.]
THE comparatively flat part of Scotland, which forms its most
easterly angle, and is chiefly included in the county of Aberdeen,
has, up to a recent period, contained a great number of stone
circles, no less than twelve having existed within the memory
of man in the one parish of Old Deer, in the corner of the angle
already mentioned, about twenty miles north from Aberdeen,
and within a dozen miles of the sea. Many, however, which
remained so recently as to be marked on the ordnance map, have
now disappeared ; amongst them one which formerly stood on
the Burgh Muir of Inverurie, about sixteen miles north-west
from Aberdeen.1
There is a fine circle remaining at Tyrebaggar Hill, two miles
from Dyce junction, and six or eight north-west from Aberdeen ;
it is 57 feet in diameter, and consists of eleven upright stones
varying in height from 2^ to 9^ feet, standing on a bank of
earth and stones, 2-g- feet high, and 3 or 4 wide at the narrowest
part ; the two tallest stones are on the south side of the circle,
and between them is a stone, 10 feet or more long, 6^ high, and
2 thick, which leans inwards, but had planted round it a number
of small stones, 2 or 3 feet long, and a foot or so square, as if to
hold it in its place. The group formed by this stone with its
little supporters and the two high stones, one on each side of it,
is obviously the principal feature of the circle, and a line taken
almost due north from its centre cuts through the centre of the
1 I mention this to prevent others from making a useless journey.
A. L. LEWIS. — Stone Circles near Aberdeen. 45
circle and between two small stones set on the inner face of the
bank to a single stone which is the most northerly of those
forming the circle ; of the other upright stones, three stand at
irregular intervals forming the west side of the circle, gradually
diminishing in size towards the north, and three in somewhat
similar positions forming the east side ; but, besides these latter
three, there are, in the eastern half of the circumference, two
other small stones, standing close together in such a position
that a line taken from, the front of the centre of the principal
stone due north-east would pass between them; there is a
tumulus about 375 feet away in this direction, but not, it would
seem, in the exact line. Mr. McCombie Stewart, the station-
master at Dyce, who should be consulted by any one visiting
Dyce for scientific purposes, informed me that there was formerly
a hole in the middle of the circle, which might be suggestive of
the former existence of a kist ; he also told me that there was
supposed to be iron in the largest stones, and this seems very
probable, for, on working my rough plans out at home, I found
a disagreement in the compass-bearings. In this emergency I
applied to Mr. McCombie Stewart, sending him a plan and
asking him to verify my compass -bearings and some other
particulars. He was so kind as not only to do this, but to get
one of the Engineers of the railway to make an exact plan of
the circle, showing the bearing of each stone from the centre.
I am happy to be able to say, as showing the accuracy of my
own methods, that my plan superposed upon his gave practically
the same results.
In the letter accompanying the plan, Mr. McCombie Stewart,
who is qualified to speak as a geologist, says, " We were unable
to account for the peculiar ringing sound of the altar stone,
unless it be caused by the flat shape of the stone, having its side
firmly fixed in the ground, and the projecting part having a
certain vibration — or if it were from the hard heathen substance
of an iron nature — but one thing is certain, the stone is not of
the same nature as those belonging to the neighbouring quarry."
I may here mention that Mr. John Stuart1 says of a similar
circle at Ardoyne, Aberdeenshire (now nearly destroyed), that
the oblong stone and the two upright stones flanking it were of
Bennachie granite, while the rest of the stones were of gneiss.
Here are two more instances of the custom of selecting stones
from some other locality for the principal stones of a circle.
Returning to the Dyce circle I ought to mention that there are
two or three small stones (say '6 feet x 2 feet x 2 feet) in a
plantation to the south-east, but whether thrown down from the
1 " Sculptured Stones of Scotland" (Spalding Club).
46 A. L. LEWIS. — Stone Circles near Aberdeen.
circle or not, I cannot say. A cairn in the field to the north-
east was, Mr. McCombie Stewart says, removed in 1886.
Mr. Christian Maclagan, in his " Hill-forts, Stone Circles, &c.,
of Ancient Scotland," published in large quarto at Edinburgh
in 1875, gives a plan of the Dyce circle, which shows an inner
circle of small stones close together, of which the two that I
have mentioned were doubtless a part. He also shows three
stones outside the larger circle, as though forming part of an
outer concentric circle, they are probably those which I have
mentioned as being in a plantation to the south-east, but I do
not think there was any circle surrounding that which now
exists. Mr. Maclagan's book appears to have been published at
considerable expense to support a view of which he probably
has a monopoly, namely, that all stone circles are the last
remains of circular buildings of unmortared masonry of the
brocli type, and that the banks of small stones in which the up-
right ones are set and held fast are only the remains of founda-
tions. He also thinks that the oblong stones have in every case
been laid flat on the short pillars surrounding them, and have
been the lintels of entrances, and he delineates a " restoration "
of a circle at Aquhorthies, near Inverurie, showing the oblong
stone in this position with a huge mass of uncemented masonry
resting upon it. There can, however, be little doubt that all
these oblong stones were originally set upright on edge, and that
where they lean or are flat it is because they have slipped. Mr.
Maclagan speaks of them as " south-west stones," whereas they
are not at the south-west, but at the south of the circles —
perhaps he forgot the westerly variation of the compass. Mr.
Maclagan considers his theory to apply to Stonehenge, which he
figures " restored " with an enormous tower embedding and sur-
mounting it, and to Avebury, the great circle of which, 1,300 feet
in diameter, he takes to have been the last remains of an im-
mense circular wall, larger than the bank which still surrounds
the site, and which is as large as a railway embankment. The
utter improbability of the entire disappearance (especially in
places where stones are a nuisance) of such tremendous quantities
as Mr. Maclagan suggests the former existence of might, but for
his nationality, lead us to suppose that in propounding his theory
he was perpetrating a practical joke almost as heavy as his
masses of masonry would have been had they ever existed ; at
the same time, it may be admitted that some very small circles
may possibly have had some such origin as he suggests. It is a
great but common mistake to assume that all circular arrange-
ments of stones must necessarily have had the same origin and
use.
About six miles south from Aberdeen and two west from
A. L. LEWIS. — Stone Circles near Aberdeen. 47
Portlethen station, four circles are marked on the ordnance map —
two on each side of the hill of Auchorthies. These four circles
were described in the " Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries
of Scotland" (June, 1863, Vol. V, page 130), by Mr. Alexander
Thomson, who, with some others, dug inside them on 30th
September, 1858. Of the most northerly of these circles — the
Badentoy circle — four stones remain in the middle of a field, a wall
has been built round them, no doubt from the fragments of other
stones belonging to the circle, a mode of preserving rude stone
monuments which, however well-intentioned, does not commend
itself to the archaeologist. I should not be surprised if these four
stones have themselves been removed inwards from their original
position, since they now stand at the four cardinal points by
compass from a central point, the distance between the north
and south pair being only 28 feet, and that between the east and
west pair only 24 feet, the diameter of a small inner circle, for
which 3 feet stones were generally used, while these stones
are from 4 to 7 feet high, the size of those used for outer circles.
Mr. Thomson, indeed, says that he found only three stones
standing, and it would seem, on a comparison of the measure-
ments he gives, that the most northerly stone (which is the
smallest and most untruly placed) has been put in its present
position, and the wall built since he visited it (perhaps in 1865,
when the ordnance survey was made). Mr. Thomson found that
this circle had been excavated before, some half-calcined bones
and morsels of wood charcoal being left. The second circle
from the north — the " King-causie " circle — appears to have
been entirely destroyed, two or three very small stones and
some heaps of fragments, which may perhaps have belonged to
it, only excepted. In 1858, Mr. Thomson found here three con-
centric rings of small stones from 2 to 3 feet high, the outer
circle 70 feet, the middle circle 56 feet, and the inner circle 12
feet in diameter. The latter was found upon digging to be full
of black mould, fragments of bones, and wood charcoal, and in
five places fragments of coarse earthenware vases. As he says
this circle was so inconspicuous that one might pass within a
few yards of it without noticing it, it is possible that I did not
get to the right spot, and that there may be more of it left
than I have said. Of the most southerly circle — the Bourtree-
bush circle — four stones remain upright and four prostrate,
besides quantities of very small fragments, the stones which
remain are about the same size as those at I)yce, and the
diameter of the circle would appear to have been about 90 feet.
Of these four circles (which do not seem to have had any
connection with each other) only the second from the south
— the Auchorthies circle — is in such preservation that its
48 A. L. LEWIS. — Stone Circles near Aberdeen.
plan can be clearly made oiit, and of this bad weather and want
of time prevented my taking fully detailed measurements.
I am able, however, to say that, like the Dyce circle, it has an
oblong stone (9 feet long, by 4 feet high, by 1£ feet thick),
standing on edge at the south side, facing a trifle west of true
north, which had an upright stone on each side, one of these
remains, and the hole in which the other stood is plainly visible.
The circle was formed of perhaps a dozen other stones, none of
which were more than 6 feet high, its diameter seems to have
been 60 feet from north to south, and 76 from east to west.
There was a second circle about 12 feet inside the outer one, it
consisted of stones measuring on the average 3 feet high by 3
feet by 1 foot, and standing close together. Close to the centre
of these concentric circles and in the direct north and south
line are three small stones (2 feet high by If foot by 1 feet)
close together, perhaps forming part of a small interior circle or
kist. The ground inside all these three circles is a foot or two
higher than that outside. Mr. John Stuart says that in one ot
them a kist, 3 feet long and 1^ wide, containing ashes, was dug
up between the outer and second circles. This, however, was
obviously a mere casual interment.
The two last-mentioned circles do not appear to have been
much interfered with since Mr. Thomson explored them in 1858.
He does not seem to have found anything in the Bourtreebush
circle, but on turning up the area of the innermost circle at
Auchorthies, he found charcoal, half-calcined bones, black unc-
tuous earth, and small fragments of a vase, and he was told some-
one had dug there fifteen years previously and found nothing.
Mr. Maclagan seems to me to have mixed up his recollections
and sketches of the circles at Aquhorthies, near Inverurie, and
Auchorthies, near Aberdeen, which latter I have just been
describing, and he says of the most southerly circle at Auchor-
thies, that Chalmers at the beginning of the century found
sixteen stones, but that he himself going in 1873 found
only one, but saw the places where the other fifteen had been,
each with a little heap of stones round it, and argues from this
the great rapidity with which these momiments have been
destroyed, and the probability of the removal of his imaginary
masses of masonry within the historic period. I, going in 1885,
however, found, as I have said, four stones upright and four
fallen, so that I cannot but think that Mr. Maclagan must have
missed this circle, and found his way instead to a standing stone
shown on the ordnance map about half a mile further south.
Moreover, though Chalmers gives the description attributed to
him, he quotes it (with acknowledgment) from a much older
one, which I am now about to quote also.
A. L. LEWIS. — Stone Circles near Aberdeen. 49
A letter from the Keverend Dr. James Garden, Professor of
Theology in the King's College of Aberdeen, to — Aubrey,
Esquire, which contained, amongst other things, a description of
the two circles last referred to, was read before the Society of
Antiquaries of London, on the 4th December, 1766,1 and from
it I have made the following extracts : —
" Honoured Sir,
" Yours dated at London, April 9th, 1692, came to my hands
about ten days after.8 ....
" What the Lord Tester and Sir Eobert Morray told you long
ago is true, viz., that in the north parts of this kingdom many
monuments of the nature and fashion described by you are yet
extant. They consist of tall, big, unpolished stones set upon
end and placed circularly, not contiguous together but at some
distances ; the obscurer sort (which are the more numerous)
have but one circle of stones standing at equal distances ;
others towards the south or south-east have a larger broad stone
standing on edge, which fills up the whole space between two of
those stones that stand on end, and is called by the vulgar the
altar stone ; a third sort more remarkable than any of the
former (besides all that I have already mentioned) have another
circle of smaller stones standing inside the circle of the great
stones ; the area of the three sorts is commonly (not always)
filled with stones of sundry sizes confusedly cast together in a
heap. Two of the largest and most remarkable of these
monuments that ever I saw are yet to be seen at a place called
Auchincorthie, in the sliire of Merris, 5 miles distant from
Aberdeen,3 one of which has two circles of stones, whereof the
exterior circle consists of thirteen great stones (besides two that
are fallen and the broad stone toward the south) about 3 yards
high above ground, and 7 or 8 paces distant one from another,
the diameter being 24 large paces ; the interior circle is about
3 paces distant from the other, and the stones thereof 3 feet
high above ground.4 Toward the east from this monument, at
1 Archseologia, Vol. 1, page 312.
2 I am informed by Professor Geddes, of the University of Aberdeen, that
the Rev. Dr. James Garden was Professor of Divinity there from 1681 until he
•was dismissed for refusing to submit to William III, and that his successor was
installed in 1698.— A. L. L.
3 " Merris " is Mearns or Kincardine. Chalmers, quoting this account in
" Caledonia," says that Achen-corthie signifies the " field of the circles," on the
ordnance map it is called Auchorthies, and I find there is also a place called
Aquhorthies, near Inverury, where a circle still exists, or did till very lately.
Gough, in his edition of Camden's Britannia, 1806, also quotes this account, but
both authors have committed error*, in transcribing and abridging it. — A. L. L.
4 This is apparently the most southerly of the four circles 1 mentioned, which
is now nearly destroyed ; and this old description is therefore very valuable,
not only as showing what it was like, but also that it was like the others ; Dr.
Garden however understates the diameter, as a comparison of his own figures
shows. — A. L. L.
VOL. XVII. E
50 A. L. LEWIS. — Stone Circles near Aberdeen.
26 paces distance, there is a big stone, fast in the ground and
level with it, in which there is a cavity, partly natural and
partly artificial, that will contain, as I guess, no less than a
Scotch gallon of water, and may be supposed to have served for
washing the priests, sacrifices, and other things esteemed sacred
among the heathen. Thp. other monument, which is full as
large if not larger than that which I have already described,
and distant from it about a bowshot of ground, consists of
three circles having the same common centre ; the stones of the
greatest circle are about 3 yards, and those of the two lesser
circles 3 feet, high above the ground, the innermost circle 3
paces diameter, and the stones standing close together. One of
the stones of the largest circle on the east side of the monument
hath upon the top of it (which is but narrow and longer one
way than the other) a hollowness, about 3 inches deep, in the
bottom whereof is cut out a trough, 1 inch deep and 2 inches
broad (with another short one crossing it) that runs along the
whole length of the cavity and down by the side of the stone a
good way, so that whatsoever liquid is poured into the cavity
upon the top of the stone doth presently run down the side of
it by this trough, and it would seem that upon this stone they
poured forth their libamina or liquid sacrifices ; there is also
another stone in the same circle and upon the same side of the
monument (standing nearest to the broad stone that stands on
edge and looks toward the south) which hath a cavity on the
upper end of it, it is considerably lower on one side and will
contain about one English pint, at the first sight it seemed to
me to have been made for burning a lamp, but, when I con-
sidered that it was sub dio, I found it could not be for that use,
afterwards observing it more narrowly I perceived that it was
cut after the fashion of the cavity in the other stone already de-
scribed, albeit not so clearly and distinctly, and that there is a
natural fissure in the stone by which all the liquor poured into
the cavity runs out of it down by the side of the stone to the
ground.1
" The general tradition throughout this kingdom concerning
these kind of monuments is that they were places of worship and
sacrifice in heathen times, few of them have particular names.
In this part of the country they are commonly called standing
1 The next stone to the broad stone is usually one of the highest in the circle,
and according to the Rev. Dr. would have been three yards high, in which case
he would hardly have seen the cavity at the top. This description in every
other respect agrees with the second circle from the south, where the highest
stone now remaining is six feet high, so that an error has evidently been com-
mitted, either in his original letter or in copying it. The stone next to the altar
stone on the east has now been removed, but its fellow is about five feet high. —
A. L. L.
\
A. L. LEWIS. — Stone Circles near Aberdeen. 5L
stones, and in the Highlands of Scotland, where the Irish tongue
is spoken, they call them caer, which signifies a throne, an
oracle, or a place of address, as I am informed by a judicious
person here, who understands that language, and was lately in
those parts where, he says, they have such a superstitious
veneration for these monuments that they will not meddle with
any of their stones or apply them to another use ; and being
lately at Auchincorthie, I was told that a poor man who lives
there having taken a stone away from one of the neighbouring
monuments above described and put it into his hearth was, by his
own relation, troubled with a deal of noise and din about his
house in the night time until he carried back the stone unto the
place where he found it.1
" Some of them are called chapels .... others are called
temples .... and those two whereof I have given you a par-
ticular description are called by the people that live near by
' Law Stones,' for what reason I know not, and ' Temple Stones.'2
They have a tradition that the pagan priests of old dwelt in
that place, Auchincorthie, and there are yet to be seen at a little
distance from one of the monuments standing there the founda-
tions of an old house which is said to have been their Teind
Barn ; they report likewise that the priests caused earth to be
brought from other adjacent places upon people's backs to
Auchincorthie for making the soil thereof deeper, which is given
for the reason why this parcel of land, though surrounded with
heath and moss on all sides is better and more fertile than
other places thereabouts.3 All these names (except the first)
confirm the general tradition concerning these monuments, that
tl icy were places of worship, and some of them, as that of the
' temple ' and ' temple stones,' declare that they have not been
erected by Christians, or for their use, which their structure also
doth sufficiently demonstrate besides Old Aberdeen,
loth June, 1692."
1 It is much to be wished that all destroyers of rude stone monuments and
especially those of Avebury, had been plagued in the like or some worse manner,
and, if the Welsh bards who are coming to London this year have had handed
down to them any particularly awful Druiclic form of curse, warranted to wear
in the next world as well as in this, I would suggest that they should imme-
diately put it in force against all circle-destroyers, past, present, or future. This
superstition would, however, have assisted to prevent the removal of Mr. Mac-
lagan's imaginary masses of masonry, and therefore diminishes the very slight
possibility of their ever having existed. — A. L. L.
2 The editor of Archseologia notes to this : — " From barrows and heaps of
stones being intended for sepulchres they are called Lows in Staffordshire (and
he might have added Derby shire ) and Lawes in Ireland," (Antiq. Corn., 1st Ed.,
p. 200).
3 This tradition, which seems rather absurd at first sight, may have arisen from
the custom which we know to have prevailed of bringing earth and stones from
a distance to form special parts of tumuli and circles. — A.L.L.
E 2
52 A. L. LEWIS. — Stone Circles near Aberdeen.
This date and these last sentences are of the very greatest
importance for this reason : — Mr. John Stuart and other writers
of what I may call the anti-Druidic school have advanced the
propositions that " the theory which ascribes to stone circles the
purpose of temples or courts is modern and unsupported by
facts." . ..." In the seventeenth century a theory was pro-
posed by two English writers, John Aubrey and William
Stukeley, which ascribed the great circles of Stonehenge and
Avebury to the Druids as their temples, and since their day all
stone circles have been called Druidical circles."1 These pro-
positions must, however, be now and for ever abandoned in
view of the proof contained in this letter, printed in Archseo-
logia 120 years ago, but written nearly 200 years ago to Aubrey
himself, who was the earlier of the two writers (for Stukeley
lived not in the seventeenth but in the eighteenth century), that
at that time the " general tradition " concerning the Scotch
circles was that they were " places of worship and sacrifice in
heathen times."
It is true Dr. Garden uses the word priest instead of Druid,
and says that he finds no mention of Druids, but he himself
evidently looks upon the priests in question as Druids, and we
know from other sources that the Druids were the priests of the
Celts and would tolerate no rivals.
In former papers on stone circles I have insisted very strongly
on the presence of a special reference to the north-east, and have
drawn various conclusions therefrom, but, as regards the two
comparatively perfect circles I have described (although in the
Dyce circle there is an indication of a north-easterly reference)
the main direction is north and south, and not north-east and
south-west; if this were the only difference between these
circles and those of southern Britain it might fairly be said that
what I had previously pointed out about the north-east was a
mere collection of accidental coincidences, but there is another
most palpable difference which, when brought to notice, cannot
fail to strike the most casual observer ; the oblong stone, flanked
by two upright stones, which is the principal feature in these
circles appears, so far as I have yet been able to discover,
nowhere except in the Aberdeen district, where on the other
hand it is almost universal. It is true that, though I visited six
sites, I only found two circles sufficiently well preserved to draw
any conclusions from, but I am fortunately not entirely dependent
on my own observation. The Rev. James Peter, Incumbent of
Old Deer, read a paper on the subject before the Anthropological
1 Transactions of International Congress of Prehistoric Archaeology, 1868, and
Sculptured Stones of Scotland, Vol. 2.
A. L. LEWIS. — Stone Circles near Aberdeen. 53
Section of the British Association at Aberdeen, at which I was
present ; the substance of this paper is published with plans and
illustrations in the Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of
Scotland, 1884—5, and I exhibit tracings from those plans and
illustrations, showing this arrangement of one oblong and two
upright stones in three circles, and from the illustrations to Col.
Forbes Leslie's " Early Races of Scotland," showing the same
arrangement in three other circles and from Mr. Maclagan's
book before quoted showing it in four other circles which, added
to the two I have myself described to you, make twelve circles
in which I can prove pictorially that the oblong stone with its
two supporters occurs, though, as a matter of fact, it has been
much more general. Mr. Peter stated that in fifteen circles he
was acquainted with, the "altar," as this oblong stone is popularly
called, was at the south, and that in two circles it faced north-
east ; at the Strichen circle the " altar " is at the north instead
of the south, and at Sinhinny it appears to be at the west ; at
the " White Cow Wood " circle there is no " altar," but the largest
stones are at the south and a dolmen occupies the north-east
corner of the circle. It is, however, clear that the " altar " and
its supporters were prominent in most of the circles of the
Aberdeen district, but I cannot find, either from friends of whom
I have enquired, or from books which I have consulted, that they
occur anywhere else; even in what I may call the Inverness
district, not fifty miles distant, but divided from the Aberdeen
district in places by mountains more than four thousand feet
high, it seems that, though there are concentric circles, there are
no " altars."1
The circle in England which, as I think, most resembles those
near Aberdeen and Inverness is that at Gunnerkeld in West-
moreland, described by me in the " Journal of the Anthropo-
logical Institute" (November, 3885, Vol. XV, page 167), and
pronounced by Mr. Dymond and myself to be in all probability
a tomb rather than a temple, but it has nothing like an " altar "
stone. Certain structures known as " Giant's Graves " in the
north of Ireland, and described by Dr. Sinclair Holden in
"Anthropologia," had some points of resemblance in principle, but
still more of difference in form ; they consisted of a long covered
burial chamber running from north-east to south-west with a
separate covered niche, open to the air and facing outwards at
the south-west end of it, which might have been a sort of altar
place ; these were surrounded by an oblong wall of stones form-
ing a promenade round the chamber, like that between the outer
1 See for example Mr. Fraser's " Descriptive Notes on Stone Circles of Strath-
nairn and neighbourhood of Inverness," in Proceedings of Society of Antiquaries,
Scotland, 12th May, 188-1.
54 A. L. LEWIS. — Stone Circles near Aberdeen.
and inner circles in Scotland, and Dr. Sinclair Holden remarks
that the covered niche never occurs without this surrounding
wall of stone ; notwithstanding the difference in shape, therefore, I
am inclined to regard the Aberdeen circles as having more affinity
to the "Giant's Graves" than to the English circles to which it has
always been sought to ally them. Considering the relative position
of this part of Scotland it might have been thought that the
Aberdeen circles and " altars " had been constructed under a
Norwegian influence, but I cannot find that any such arrange-
ment of stones exists in any part of Scandinavia ; it may be that
this peculiar form of circle was developed by some tribe or
tribes cut off from the rest of the world by the sea, the mountains,
and hostile populations ; certain it is that different countries have
their specialities in rude stone monuments as in other things,
and that the use of unhewn stones is no proof of the intercourse
or common origin of the users unless they be used in some more
markedly similar manner than a mere placing of them in circles.
In the oblong " altar " stone, flanked by two upright stones we
have a very obvious difference, which, combined with the absence
of any such marked reference to the north-east as exists in the
circles of southern Britain, might almost lead us to suppose that
the circles of the two countries were constructed by a different
set of people, and perhaps for a different purpose, but I am not
aware that this has been previously pointed out, most writers
seeming rather to dwell upon the points of resemblance between
the circles of all countries. From their great number and close
contiguity, and from remains found in them,1 it might seem more
likely in the case of the Aberdeen circles than in that of most
English circles that their primary object was sepulchral, but the
traditions already mentioned and the avenue between the inner
and outer circles are suggestive of periodical processional or
other rites culminating in some special observance before the so-
called "altar" stones. Mr. John Stuart and Mr. Fergusson,
though differing as to their date and origin, both maintain the
Scotch circles to have been purely sepulchral, ignoring the
common and, as I have shown, long-standing traditions concern-
ing them, and, having established this to their own satisfaction,
and finding in southern Britain other circles, with differences of
construction of which they take no notice, they conclude that
2 See lift in " Sculptured Stones of Scotland," edited by John Stuart, Esq.,
for the Spalding Club. With special regard to the number and contiguity how-
ever Colonel Forbes Leslie says " several stone circles, close together, even inter-
secting each other, and lately erected to the same object of worship — viz., to
Vital — may any day be seen in secluded rocky places near towns and villages of
the Dekhan in India. Near Poonah they are extremely common." — '' Early
Kaces of Scotland," page 214.
D
UJ
O
_J
O
cr
ft ^
LJZ
ocn
i<
Q «O Q
Z :?
< to
UJ LJ
^ u
UJ ry <
^ <
C/) -
O
O
k;
-is
^
0 LU
i
CD
UJ
A. L. LEWIS. — Stone Circles near Aberdeen. 55
those circles also must be purely sepulchral, Mr. Stuart, in
particular, saying that unless some other difference than that of
size can be shown to exist he must decline to admit any difference
of purpose. I have now shown two other differences to exist
between the circles near Aberdeen and those of England and
Wales, namely, the oblong " altar " stone at the south, present in
the Aberdeen district but absent in England and Wales, and the
north-easterly references, indicative of sun-worship, and some-
times of mountain and phallic worship, which are prominent in
England and Wales, but only subsidiary in the Aberdeen district.
Explanation of Plate III.
Two plans and ten sketches of "Altar Stones," showing the
arrangement of an oblong stone with two supporters peculiar
to the Aberdeen district, copied from illustrations to Mr.
Maclagan's " Hill Forts, Stone Circles, &c., of Ancient Scot-
land ;" to Colonel Forbes Leslie's " Early Eaces of Scotland ;"
to Eev. J. Peters' paper in the Proceedings of the Society of
Antiquaries of Scotland ; and from original sketches by the
author.
DISCUSSION.
Dr. JOHN EVANS complimented Mr. Lewis on the care lie had
bestowed in examining and describing these Scottish monuments.
There were, he thought, two points especially worthy of notice.
One, the presence of stones of a kind that must have been
brought from a distance, and that were used for the so-called
" altar stones." Analogies in this respect might be found among
southern stone circles. The second point was the extent of the
destruction of these stone circles within comparatively recent
times. He suggested that the attention of General Pitt Rivers, as
the Inspector of Ancient Monuments, should be called to these
Aberdeenshire circles. As an illustration of the employment of
concentric circles in places of worship, he mentioned the church
of San Stefano at Rome, which is of early date, and the arrange-
ment of which in three concentric circles may have been suggested
by some far earlier monument. He regarded the question as to
whether the Scottish priests referred to by the author were Druids
or not, as involving many difficulties which could not be summarily
discussed.
Miss BUCKLAND inquired whether Mr. Lewis had found any cup-
markings or basin-like hollows in the stones he had examined,
especially on the so-called "altar stones." Referring to the position
of the circles as regards the cardinal points, Miss Buckland called
Mr. Lewis's attention to the abstract of Mr. Peter's paper read at
the Aberdeen meeting of the British Association, in which, accord-
ing to the author, there would seem to be a special arrangement of
56 Discussion.
the "altar stone" on the south meridian in fourteen cases out of
seventeen, whilst in the three exceptions it faces north-east, and of
one circle Mr. Peter proved by measurements that the table stone
of the dolmen standing in the centre was so placed as to face the
point of the horizon in which the sun rises on Midsummer dav.
Dr. GARSON remarked in reference to the observations that Mr.
Lewis had made regarding1 the stones comprising the circles in
Aberdeenshire not being obtained apparently from the neighbour-
hood of the circle, that the stones composing the circle of Stennis, in
the Orkney Islands, appear to have been brought from a quarry
situated in the hills between Qnoyloo and Marwick, about eight miles
or more distant. In that quarry there are several stones lying on
their sides corresponding closely in size and form to those of the
circle. There is no quarry near the circle known from which they
could be taken. The question naturally arises how the erectors of
these ancient circles, with probably only rude mechanical appliances
at their disposal, managed to transport these large stones, which
frequently measure from 18 to 20 feet long, by 3 to 4 feet broad,
and 9 inches to a foot thick, so great a distance over rough hilly
ground to their present resting place.
Mr. BouvERiE-PusEY remarked that he was much surprised that
the author of the paper seemed to countenance the idea that stone
circles had something to do with the Druids. We had long and
detailed notices of the Druids and of their customs in ancient
authors with no mention of stone circles, too characteristic a
feature surely to be omitted, and he believed that the notices of
Druidism found in the old literature of Ireland were equally silent
on this point. It was his opinion that if stone circles were temples
at all they must have been the temples of some pre-historic period.
Mr. HYDE CLARKE, after stating that it was by such investiga-
tions as those of Mr. Lewis that certain data would be obtained for
the determination of the epoch and purposes of the monuments,
observed that it was assumed the stones in a circle must be
stationed equally. He thought it well worthy of consideration
whether intervals were not to be found as in pre-historic and
existing arrangements throughout the world. In the plans before
them the numbers were twelve, thirteen, sixteen and twenty,
numbers commonly found. Now in a circle of twelve it might
happen that it was divided three, four and five, or six and six, or
seven and five. It was possible that the stones of the Giant's
Grave were to be taken not as thirteen, but as twenty-six, or twice
thirteen. He should like to see some facts that Celts or Druids
had anything to do with the stone monuments otherwise than
making burials in them. Aberdeenshire had traces of Iberian
occupation.
Mr. LEWIS said in reply to Miss Buckland that he had not
noticed any cup-markings or hollows in any of the stones, but it
was possible some might have escaped his observation ; he thought,
however, the cavities described so minutely by Dr. Garden were
J. COCKBURN. — Palceolithic Implements, South Mirzapore. 57
very likely natural weatherings. Referring to Dr. Hyde Clarke's
suggestion he had, be said, at different times considered the number
and arrangement of stones in circles, but had never been able to
formulate any rule, or come to any satisfactory conclusion. He
thought it not unlikely that the erection of stone monuments was
begun by a pre-Celtic race, but the evidence of the objects found
in them showed that they had been used and he believed con-
structed down to if not beyond the commencement of the Roman
occupation. It was perhaps, surprising that the traditions men-
tioned by Dr. Garden, and similar though fainter traditions in other
places, should have survived, as they must have done, for more
than a thousand years : but to suppose that they had been handed
down as traditions from a pre-Celtic period, say three thousand
years ago, was sorely too much to ask anyone to believe. There
was no doubt a want of direct evidence as to the use of stone
monuments by the Druids, but that proved nothing, and he
thought that such evidence as they had showed that the stone
monuments were used by the Celts with the approval of their
Druidic priesthood. The question of the transport of large stones
had been dealt with by him in a paper on the " Devil's Arrows "
published in the Journal of the Institute in November, 1878. He
was much indebted to Dr. Evans for the reference to the church of
San Stefano at Rome.
On PALAEOLITHIC IMPLEMENTS from the DRIFT GRAVELS of the
SINGRAULI BASIN, SOUTH MIRZAPORE.
By J. COCKBURN, Esq.
DURING Christmas week, 1883, I was partially rewarded for a
long and tedious journey in a country without water and with-
out roads, by discovering a locality where palaeolithic implements
abounded. So numerous were they that I collected in three
days five hundred implements, besides a vast collection of rude
flakes and spalls amounting in all to twelve sack loads.
The implements themselves are undistinguishable from those
found by Messrs. Foote and King in the laterite of the North
Arcot district in Madras ; those by Mr. Hacket in the Narbadda
gravels ; those of Mr. W. T. Blanford from Hyderabad ; and
those of Mr. Ball from Orissa. They, however, differ in being-
composed of a great variety of rocks, while all those hitherto
found were either quartzite or vein quartz.
The majority of the implements in the Hinoutee locality were
found on undulating ground, covered with shingle, over a frontage
of a mile and a half along the south bank of the Balliah Nadi.
The width of the exposed surface of Talchirs along this frontage
varies from a quarter to half a mile, and between the villages of
Hinoutee and Amaharee.
58 J. COCKBUKX. — On Palceolitliic Implements from the
The first implement was discovered where the main track to
the corundrum mines of Pipra crosses the Balliah Nadi.
Here it lay on the denuded surface of black Talchir needle
shales, mingled with shingle, boulders, and other debris of what
was once a gravel bed. The majority of the specimens were
found in these positions.
Here and there the Talchirs have been cut into shallow ravines
and the sides and bottoms of all gullies are strewn and often
piled with heaps of boulders and shingle.
These boulders present a remarkable variety of colour, green,1
white, red, purple, and black predominating. The Talchir boulder
bed is also exposed at most points, and the coloured boulders
and gravel in question have been partly derived from the
decomposition of the needle shales, in which the boulders are
embedded and partly from a superincumbent gravel bed to be
described further on.
This gravel bed has yielded implements from Hinoutee to
Mahree2 on the Bichee Nadi, or over a strip of country twelve
miles long from east to west, and four miles broad.
A slight sketch of the physical character of the country will
here be necessary.
The Singrauli Basin in South Mirzapore is the only locality
in the North- West Provinces where rocks of the Gondwana
system occur.
Like other such areas it may be described as a basin-shaped
depression in older metamorphic rocks (gneiss and jasperous
quartzites) occupied by Talchir and Damuda formations, but the
latter in British Singrauli have been almost entirely removed by
denudation except six or eight miles of a range which forms the
north-west boundary of this corner of Singrauli, extending from
Aundhi Hill, lat. 24° 12' 21//,long. 82° 43' 51", to Kota Puchum.
This range is composed of a characteristic soft, gritty sand-
stone, Barakar, which occasionally passes into a feeble con-
glomerate containing oval white and green quartz pebbles from
half an inch to two and a half inches in diameter.
It is largely worked into millstones by aboriginal Bhuyars8
who block the stones into shape with small iron axes.
The cultivated portion of Singrauli forms an alluvial depressed
plain, on the margin of a great coal basin, about 12 miles long
and four in width. The alluvium is for the most part modified
1 No marks of polishing or scratching were noticed on the boulders from the
Talchir boulder bed, although 1 disinterred several boulders on purpose, and
carefully examined them.
2 No more than half a dozen specimens were found at Mahree.
3 Some of the Bhuyars have a close resemblance to Australian aborigines in
feature and form of skull. But here and there individuals with Aryan features
were noticed. These people continue to use bows and poisoned arrows.
Drift Gravels of the Sinyrauli Basin, South Mirzapore. 59
regur under rice. Except in ravines in the vicinity of the Eeyr
Eiver,1 this alluvium is no where thick, and may be said to
uniformly overlie a compact Talchir sandstone. I had exceptional
opportunities for testing the depth of this alluvium at points
where no exposures occur, owing to the official enquiries I was
required to make regarding wells. The alluvium varies from
eight to 20 feet in depth at various points between Hinoutee
and Mahree, and while the Talchir sandstone forms a stratum
nearly impervious to water, it is a serious obstacle to well-
sinking. The wells only contain from three to four and half feet
of water but this supply is pretty constant.
In ravines in the vicinity of Gharwar Gaon the alluvium is in
places 50 feet thick; clay cliffs 30 feet high occur. Below one
such cliff I obtained the fossil tibia and portions of the femur of
the left pelvic limb of a large Bos. These bones were undis-
tinguishable from those of an adult male Bos gaurus, with which
I compared them in the Indian Museum.
As might be expected from the shallowness of the alluvium,
the minor streams in this tract have cut their way into the
Talchir rocks. Beautiful exposures of the glacial boulder bed
occur at various points, and pot holes are as usual common. As
a stream approaches the Eeyr it cuts deep, narrow rifts into the
Talchir sandstone, full of pellucid water. When still closer, to
the Eeyr, as the declivity increases, gneiss takes the place of the
Talchir, which is nowhere thick. Throughout the alluvial basin
of Singrauli, wherever cut into by watercourses or streams, a
well-defined gravel bed, from a foot to three feet in thickness is
found at the base of the alluvium, resting immediately upon the
Talchir rocks.
This is the implement-bearing gravel bed, or specimen drift,
the subject of this paper. The village of Mahree, in the vicinity
of the Bichee Nadi, forms the extreme eastern point where the
implements have been obtained, while Hinoutee forms the ex-
treme western point. In places the gravel bed is reduced to a
mere string of pebbles, occasionally, even when 18 inches thick,
and exposed for 25 or 80 feet, I have failed to obtain conclusive
fragments of human manufacture, and in some few places the
gravel bed was not observed at all, but this is very exceptional.
The gravel bed is, as i rule, pierced in well-sinking, and the
minor forms of the gravel are usually visible round the mouth of
the well, if it is a new one. The wells are of small diameter,
three to four feet, and the gravel conglomerate, firmly cemented
1 Here several flat oblong polished celts of diorite were obtained by me in the
ravines, and two singularly sharp bevelled fragments of the cutting edges of
polished celts, which were in all probability broken in use. 1 have constantly
found such chips in Banda.
60 J. COCKBURN. — On Palaeolithic Implements from the
as it is with carbonate of lime, is not easily broken up with the
rude tools at the command of the villagers. Whatever the cause
I have only found two rude and doubtful fragments which bore
evidences of human workmanship brought up in this way. They
have since become mixed with the rest of the collection.
The first axe-head picked up was, strange to say, one of the
most perfect found : a rapid search was rewarded by the discovery
of a pile of specimens weighing over a hundred pounds, and as I
was only accompanied by a single attendant I was obliged to
make a selection of these, and leave the remainder behind.
The next day I pitched my tent on the spot and began my
inquiries.
From the large number of implements, and from various other
considerations, I concluded that the spot where they were found
had been the seat of a manufactory and that the implements
had not been drift-borne from over extensive areas. Thus, the
whole of the gravel stratum is not equally prolific of implements;
indeed they are rare elsewhere. The spalls (i.e., chips) struck in
the manufacture of these implements, and the huge primary
flakes from which they were manufactured are found here ; and I
consider that the bulk of my specimens (say 95 per cent.) are
unfinished implements.
The implements show signs of rolling, and weathering, and
occasionally bear deposits of carbonate of lime. They are very
unequally worn, some having the edges sharp, others being much
worn and rounded. When broken across on purpose, they show
that the material has altered in colour to the depth of a tenth of
an inch and often more. The amount of wear and weathering
on the celts is the same as that exhibited by fragments of similar
rocks in the shingle.
No trace of fossil animal remains was found in the immediate
vicinity.
The celts were found in situ, both in exposed sections of the
gravel and in sinking pits, where the superincumbent alluvium
is from two to three feet thick.
The amount of concretionary deposit on celts naturally
weathered out is less than on those won by digging.
All the rocks which occur in the Talchir boulder bed are
represented in the collection.
No polished implements occurred mingled with the roughly
chipped; nor any implements formed of feldspathic rocks, or of
jade. Stone hammers occur in the proportion of about 3 per
cent. Flakes are found, but they are very coarse, and possibly
doubtful.
About 12 feet of alluvium occurs at various points, but on
carefully examining it 110 implements were found. There are
Drift Gravels of the Singrauli Basin, South Mirzapore. 61
no indications of celts or rude flakes in the Talchir boulder bed
itself, in two or three cases there are chips on the broad ends
of the lanceolate specimens which seem to have been caused by
use, but as a rule the broad end is unfinished and often bears a
piece of the crust of the original pebble. The pointed end, on
the contrary, is nearly always finished.
It will now be necessary to give a description of the composi-
tion and nature of the gravel.
The gravel stratum varies from two and a-half feet in thickness
to one foot in parts. This in the Hinoutee locality is composed
of boulders, pebbles, subangular fragments, cubical fragments,
masses of limestone, &c. The boulders vary from 18 inches in
diameter to tiny pebbles an inch in diameter. The whole is
loosely cemented into a mass by carbonate of lime. In places,
as opposite Amaharee, the cementing matrix is exceedingly hard
and difficult to dig into. Here the superincumbent alluvium is
from twelve to fourteen feet thick, and the gravel stratum pro-
jects some ten feet into the river's bed in a bold promontory,
having so far resisted the erosion of the river, and offering an
exceptionally fine field for observation. The gravel here,
as elsewhere, rests directly upon the Talchir boulder bed,
the lower strata of the gravel actually touching it. The
rocks which occur in the gravel are almost identical with those
in the Talchir boulder bed, and I find I have noted them as
parti-coloured jaspers, jasper-conglomerate boulders, pink gneiss,
hornblendic gneiss, porphyritic gneiss, tourmaline granite, lumps
of epidote and epidotic granite, pegmatite, vein quartz, quart-
zites of all colours, cherts, and even graphitic schist.
I cannot identify the quartzite with any existing upper Vend-
hian1 quartzite beds with which I am acquainted in the country
between Urgoorh Ghat and Burdhee. The first implement
found in situ was a hundred yards lower down than the project-
ing bed. Here a magnificent section of the drift gravel is
exposed for the distance of a quarter of a mile along the east
bank, covered with alluvium from 10 to 14 feet thick.
The specimen, an unfinished hache, lay with a portion of the
worked point projecting, firmly cemented in the hard mass.
Its position was slightly below the middle of the mass, and it
required to be chiseled out with a cold chisel and hammer. It
is uniformly covered with a fine deposit of carbonate of lime,
except on the projecting portion.
The following section will give some idea of the relations of
the gravel bed, Talchir, and superincumbent alluvium. The
1 The lower Vendhians seem everywhere to give way and disappear with far
greater rapidity than the upper Vendhians. This is very noticeable in the
Banda district.
62 J. COCKBURN. — On Palceolitliw Implements from the
Talchir beds are of very uneven thickness, and the dip rolling.
For those who are not acquainted with Indian geology the
following brief sketch of this characteristic formation is
appended.
SECTION ON EIGHT BANK OP THE BALLIAH NADI, OPPOSITE HINOTTTEK.
A. Alluvium. B. Gravel, containing the implements. C. Talchir boulder-
beds. D. Red sandstone. E. Green sandstone.
The Talchirs form the base of the Gondwana series and rest
on metamorphic gneissic rocks : their thickness has been
estimated at from five to 900 feet, as a rule, and in the area
described, notably, " they form thin, irregular beds, filling up
hollows in the metamorphic rocks which latter are often
exposed through the Talchirs by denudation " (Griesbach,
Mem. Geolog. Surv. Ind.,Vol. xiv, p. 14, " Eatnkola and Tatapani
Coalfield "). The porphyritic gneiss of Pipra is the rock most
commonly thus exposed.
The Talchir rocks consist of silty greenish or blackish shales,
splitting into angular pieces (being jointed in three directions),
or of tolerably compact green and red feldspathic sandstones,
occasionally slightly gritty. The terms mudstones and needle
shales admirably describe the appearance of the former. The
boulder bed is usually green or black silty shale. In this
indurated matrix occur pebbles and boulders of all sizes from
an oval pebble one quarter of an inch in length to blocks 15
feet in diameter.
The Talchir boulder bed is now generally admitted to be of
glacial origin, and is attributed to the close of the palaeozoic
epoch. It need hardly be said that no single fragment which
bore the slightest resemblance to even the rudest implement
Drift Gravels of the Singrauli Basin, South Mirzapore. 63
has yet been found in the boulder bed, though I have searched
it in vain for many miles.
The Talchir boulder bed has been supposed to be of the same
age as a very similar formation at the base of the coal-bearing
rocks in South Africa. These rocks are described by Mr. Gooch
in his paper on the stone age of South Africa (" Journ. Anthrop.
Inst.," 1881, page 167), as " fine highly laminated shale with
boulders included." It would appear from his geological
diagram, that the quaternary alluvium and gravels which have,
yielded palaeolithic implements in such abundance cap this
boulder formation at more than one point, but I have not
clearly made this out from the letterpress, and may be mis-
taken. As noted by Mr. Worthington Smith in the discussion
that followed the reading of Mr. Gooch's paper, the palaeolithic
specimens of celts very closely resemble those from Madras, and
I may add, the Singrauli gravels.
This brings me to Messrs. Foote and King's discovery of im-
plements in the laterite of the North Arcot District, Madras.
Mr. Foote's discovery was made in 1865, and the results
published in the " Madras Journal of Literature and Science,"
for October, 1866.
Most of his specimens were found in broken-up shingle, the
debris of a laterite conglomerate composed of quartzite pebbles ;
but some appear to have been found embedded in solid
laterite itself ; this appears, likewise, to have contained pebbles.
The laterite conglomerate either rested on metamorphic
gneissic rocks, or on rocks which belong to the Upper Gondwana
system, the Sri Permatur shales. These shales are of possibly
similar age to the Talchir sandstones, and the thickness,
composition, and deposit of the laterite gravel is very similar to
the Singrauli gravel, substituting lime as the cementing matrix
in the place of laterite.
No laterite is found near Hinoutee, but it caps the Pats of
Sirgoojah 30 miles south, and even occurs north of the Sone
liiver, near Sookerit, 21 miles south of Chunar, on the Ganges.
I personally compared my specimens with such of Mr. Foote's
as were exhibited in the Calcutta Exhibition of 1884, and the
specimens are so veiy similar, that it would hardly be possible
to separate them were they mixed together. Every type
figured by him is represented in the collection made.
He supposes that the laterite conglomerates and sands were
deposited at the bottom of a shallow sea studded with moun-
tainous islands, between which flowed strong and rapid currents,
and that the implements were either dropped by accident from
rafts or boats, or accumulated by the upsetting of these craft.
He divides his implements into three classes : —
64 J. COCKBURX. — Palceolitliic Implements, South Mirzapore.
Class I. Implements with one blunt or truncated end ; II.
Implements with a cutting edge all round ; III. Flakes.
Mr. William King, in an appendix to the above paper, was of
opinion that certain of the sites were the seats of manufacture,
and with this opinion I agree.
It still remains to account for the extensive spread of the
gravel bed described by me over so large an area, and for the
fact that many of the celts show traces of grinding and rounding
of edges. It must, however, be remembered that the alluvium
is very thin and that it is quite possible that if the existing
brooks and streams flowed over the bare Talchir rocks and were
proportionally larger, enormous quantities of shingle would
rapidly form, from the weathering out of the Talchir pebbles. It
is easy to understand how some of the implements would be
submitted to greater rolling and grinding than others. The
variation in this respect, as will seen from the specimens, is very
considerable.
The arguments in favour of the site, Hinoutee, having been the
seat of a manufactory are so strong as to outweigh any other
consideration. The arguments in favour of the site having been
a manufactory are : —
1st. The presence of the raw material which is identical with
that of which the palifioliths are made.
2nd. The presence of recognizable stone hammers in the
proportion of 3 per cent.
3rd. The presence of spalls, chips, and flakes.
4th. The fact that specimens in all stages of manufacture
occur, and that the great majority are obviously unfinished
products.
Neolithic manufactories quite as extensive have been observed
by me near Kalnegar, Kalyanpur, &c., and are strewn with chert
and agate splinters, used-up stone hammers and broken and
unfinished implements.
My conclusion is that the implements lie where they were
made, subsequent to their manufacture ; and that some 20 feet of
alluvium thinly scattered with pebbles from one to two inches
diameter was deposited over them by aqueous causes, including
possible glacial action.
DISCUSSION.
Mr. C. H. READ observed that the implements found by Mr.
Cockburn in Mirzapore formed a very interesting series, although
he did not think there was among them any new Indian type.
They strongly resemble, as the author observed, those found by
Mr. Foote, and appear to be made of the same kind of stone. The
great similarity that exists between the implements of the Drift
gravels, whether in India or Europe, is a yery curious point, and
Discussion. 65
one that does not seem capable of any satisfactory explanation
One of these implements in Mr. Cockburn's series might very well
have been found in Suffolk, except that the material is not flint;
in shape and colour it absolutely corresponds. Looking at the
forms alone, and making some allowance for the difference of
fracture between flint and other stones, nearly all the shapes seen
here are found in the Drift of Europe. The discoidal implement
with an edge all round might, perhaps, be called an exception, for,
though this form does occur in England, it is of rarer occurrence.
Mr. J. ALLEN-BROWN remarked on the importance of such a
collection as the author had brought before the Institute. As
Mr. Read has observed, most of the implements are of well-known
palaeolithic forms,which have been found not only in the oldest river
drift deposits of England, France, and Southern Europe, generally,
but also in South Africa, in the Nile Valley, Asia Minor, and India,
as well as in the Trenton gravels of North America, which are said
to be of glacial origin. The quartzite implements, from the laterite
deposits of Madras, closely resemble those in this collection from
South Mirzapore, and like the former, it is extremely difficult to
determine the age of the specimens. These implements appear to
have been found mostly on the surface of the drift gravels and not
in those deposits : under such circumstances we have no evidence of
the fauna which existed at the time they were fabricated, and are,
therefore, without one of the most trustworthy tests of antiquity.
Though form alone cannot afford evidence as to age which can
safely be relied upon, the persistent occurrence of certain definite
forms of roughly-hewn pointed implements and chopping tools
(examples of which are in this collection), not only in the oldest
river drift, but also in the most ancient deposits of bone caves
Avith extinct quaternary mammalia is remarkable — such a similarity
of form, however, may be explained by the assumption, that early
man formed his implements naturally on the simplest models.
Some of these instruments are worn as if from use. There is no
appearance of abrasion from contact with other stones in a stream,
but the angles of fracture, and surfaces of some of them seem to be
slightly altered, probably by rain which contains a small amount
of carbonic acid, and which may have acted also as a solvent.
With regard to these objects being found near the surface, or
upon the gravel deposits, Mr. Allen-Brown could well believe from
the evidence which had been presented to him in the Thames
Valley Drift, that old land surfaces afterwards covered by gravel
and alluvium, may subsequently be exposed by denudation, and
that, as a consequence, palaeolithic implements may be found on
the present surface of the land ; though roughly chipped into
shape, he regarded the specimens exhibited as finished implements,
and it is probable that the spot at which they were found, was
inhabited for a long period; there is not enongh evidence, the
speaker thought, of its having been a manufactory of such objects
from the discovery, with them, of a few flakes.
VOL. XVII. F
66 A. HALE. — Notes on Stone Implements from Perak.
The following Notes were read by the Assistant Secretary : —
NOTES on STONE IMPLEMENTS from PERAK.
By ABRAHAM HALE, Esq.
IN " Nature '' of October 29th, 1885, I first drew attention to
two stone axes which I had procured at Kinta, Perak. I have
since been able to increase my collection by several other
specimens, all procured from Malays. Most of them having
been preserved in the houses of natives of this district for
several generations, have been passed down from father to son
as heirlooms of no inconsiderable value. At the present time
the purpose which they serve is that of whetstones on which to
sharpen razors for which they are admirably suited, being for
the most part made from what appears to be a very close and
fine grained stone, almost like greenstone.
Nearly all the specimens are apparently axes or tomahawks
of different descriptions. Of these weapons or implements
almost every type associated with the neolithic era seems to be
here represented except those which have been bored to admit
the haft or otherwise sculptured for the same purpose : of these,
however, I have heard tidings here, and hope soon to procure
specimens. With one exception which was found by a Sakai
about three feet deep in made earth, which he was sluicing off to
procure tin sand, I can give no history of the finding of any of
these specimens, beyond the imperfectly recollected statement of
the Malays, on which no very great dependence can be placed —
every one of them being heirlooms.
I have questioned Malays concerning Sakaies and also Sakaies
themselves concerning the matter : neither the one nor the other
have ever heard of such a thing as these articles ever having had
any other use beyond that of whetstones or lucky things to have
about the house. Probably much light would be thrown on the
matter if one or two of the numerous limestone-caves of this
district could be scientifically explored. This task I hope to
accomplish before very long myself. For my part I think it
more than probable that the Sakaies of early times, say five
hundred years ago, before intercourse with Malay traders was
established to any extent, were the manufacturers. These
specimens are now in the Perak Museum at Thaipirig.
DISCUSSION.
Mr. READ pointed out the great interest of stone implements from
a new or comparatively unknown locality, and although there were
no absolutely new types among the drawings exhibited by Mr.
List of Presents. 67
Hale, yet it was of importance to put on record the fact, that in the
small State from which these specimens came, the type is the same
as that of the neighbouring islands.
It is by no means surprising to find that there is gome difficulty
in inducing the native possessors of these ancient implements to
p.art with them. Almost over the whole world these relics of the
former inhabitants are regarded by the uncultivated classes as of
some supernatural value, either as medicine, or from the idea that
carrying them about the person will avert disaster or death. Even
among the ancient Greeks, at the time when a.rt was at its best,
flint arrowpoints are found set in jewellery of the most perfect
style and workmanship, and they can only have been so used in
the belief that they carried with them some mysterious power. Dr.
J. Anderson, in his excellent account of the expedition to Bhamo,
mentions a similar belief among the Shans. Indeed, in our own
country, and at the present day, instances are known of people of
education entertaining the same superstitious belief in the virtues
of stone implements.
MAKCH 22ND, 1887.
FKANCIS GALTON, Esq., F.K.S., President, in the Chair.
The Minutes of the last meeting were read and signed.
The following presents were announced, and thanks voted to
the respective donors —
FOR THE LlBRAET.
From the Right Hon. the SECRETARY OF STATE FOR THE COLONIES. —
Despatch from the Acting Administrator of Gambia.
— Statistics of the Colony of New Zealand for the year 1885.
From the DIRECTOR OF THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. —
Bulletin. Nos. 31-33.
From the AUTHOR. — History of the Sarsens. By Professor T.
Rupert Jones, F.R.S.
• Syllabus of Twelve Lectures on the History of the British
Empire. By Rev. Alfred Caldecott, M.A.
- Ethnographische Mittheilungen aus Venezuela. By Hr. A.
Ernst.
Per la priorita di una sua determinazione di resti umani della
caverna della Palmaria stali prima attribuiti ad un macacus.
Di Ettore Regalia.
From the ROYAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE. — Archeeological Journal,
No. 172.
F 2
68 H. EINK. — The Migrations of the Eskimo indicated
From the ASSOCIATION. — Journal of the Royal Historical and
Archaeological Association of Ireland, No. 67.
From the SOCIETY. — Proceedings of the Royal Society. No. 251.
- Journal of the Society of Arts, Nos. 1790-91.
Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, No. 124.
• Proceedings of the Literary and Philosophical Society of
Liverpool. Vol. xxxix, xl.
Bulletin de la Societe de Borda, Dax. 1887. Part I.
From the EDITOR.— Nature. Nos. 906-907.
- Science. Nos. 213-214.
- Photographic Times. No. 285.
Walford's Antiquarian, No. 63.
Sir ALLEN YOUNG, Sir L. McCLiNTOCK, Mr. SETON-KARR and
Dr. JOHN EAE exhibited a large number of ethnological objects
principally from Arctic America.
The Secretary read the following paper : —
The MIGRATIONS of the ESKIMO INDICATED % their PROGKESS in
COMPLETING the KAYAK IMPLEMENTS.
By DR. H. EiNK.1 (Communicated by DK. EGBERT BROWN).
IN a paper which I had the honour to present to the Institute
last year, I tried to demonstrate how the dialects of the Eskimo
tribes point to the interior of Alaska as the probable home and
indicate the route by which they have spread over the coast
regions from the Aleutian Islands to Labrador and Greenland.
The next question will be, how do the other peculiarities
of the tribes agree with this conclusion ? Notwithstanding
the extreme simplicity and poverty of their mode of life, differ-
ences can be traced in their state of culture, caused partly by
progress or new inventions, partly by certain habits being
permitted to fall into decadence during their migrations. The
problem is facilitated here by the fact that the Eskimo nation
has been less exposed to that mixture and contact with other
races which elsewhere renders the question more complicated.
The changes have here more exclusively been dependent on
natural influences, to which they were subjected in their new
1 Besides the printed sources of information used in the preparation of the
present article, I have been favoured by obtaining special communications from
John Murdoch, A. Jakobsen, Aurel and Arthur Krause, relating to the West,
Franz Boas regarding the Middle regions, and G. Holm concerning the extreme
East of the Eskimo territory.
by their Progress in completing the Kayak Implements. 69
homes. For this reason the farther we go back towards their
supposed mother country, the more of their original habits we
must expect to find still preserved.
I shall try to apply the investigation here indicated to the
chief Eskimo invention, the kayak, or skin canoe, and to the
implements which belong to it. In Greenland the latter are
known to consist of (1) The water-tight clothes which when
in due connection with the kayak itself, entirely covers it$
occupant excepting his face. (2) The double-bladed paddle. (3)
For ordinary use : the large harpoon connected by a line with
the bladder, intended for retarding and weakening the seal in
its course through the water. (4) The lance used to give it the coup
de grace or mortal wounds. (5) For small seals : the " bladder-
arrow," or small harpoon, with a bladder fixed to its shaft. (5)
The " bird-arrow," or javelin, with long subsidiary hooks of bone
on the middle of the shaft to strike the bird should the hunter
have missed the mark with the primary point.
Beginning with the inland Eskimo of Alaska we find that
he is still carrying on his fishery in the rivers by means of the
birch-bark canoe just like his Indian neighbours, but in settling
at the river mouth he has exchanged the birch bark for skin, at
the same time protecting his small skiff against the waves of the
sea by a deck. This of course may be simply the origin of the
kayak ; we find it subsequently improved with regard to its form
and dimensions, but otherwise it remains the same.
The implements mentioned above appear gradually, as, after
having left southern Alaska, we proceed towards the north and
east. The first of them, the kayak dress, has been the latest to
acquire perfection. At first the dress appears to be intended
as much for protection against rain as against the sea. As far
as I know they do not pass beyond this stage even in Labrador,
and in Greenland not before they enable the kayaker to be
quite independent of the dangers of capsizing or being wholly
covered by heavy sea. Then, as for propelling the kayak, in
southern Alaska, perhaps with exception of the Aleutians this
is performed merely by the one-bladed paddle of the Indian
canoe. The first proper double-bladed kayak paddles are met
with north of the Yukon Eiver, but even there the one-bladed
paddle is still used on occasions, almost as frequently as the
former, and as far as we are able to judge from models,
this custom is still maintained at the Anderson Eiver. At
Point Barrow the one-bladed paddle always serves for common,
the other only for particular use.
Then passing to the weapons, the bow and arrow of the
Inlanders are even said to have been carried on the kayak in
southern Alaska. While this, however, remains doubtful, it is
70 H. PJNK. — The Migrations of the Eskimo indicated
still a characteristic fact, that some at least of the javelins there
are furnished with birds' feathers like the arrows for the land
chase. But in the main it must have been already early
observed, that a seal, even when hit by a harpoon will be able
to escape more easily than a terrestrial animal, namely, by diving.
To prevent this, a small inflated bladder was attached to the end
of the harpoon, and in this way the " bladder-arrow " of the
Greenlanders was invented. Only for sea-fowls this was found
unnecessary, whereas the javelin for capturing them was
fashioned as mentioned above.
The " bladder-arrow " is certainly met with on Kadjak Island.
But by-and-by we see how it has been found necessary to
enlarge the bladder, and of course at the same time the missile,
by offering too much surface to the air, grew more and more unfit
for being thrown to a suitable distance. In fact, specimens from
Alaska are still seen of such a shape as would astonish a Green-
lander. This inconvenience then gave rise to the invention of
the large harpoon and the bladder to be separately thrown out,
only connected with the harpoon by means of the long hunting
line. This contrivance is unknown on Kadjak Island ; passing
to the north, loose bladders as a kayak implement are said to be
met with for the first time just beyond the Peninsula of Aliaska,
but only as a rarity, and even on Point Barrow the large loose
bladder, like the double-bladed paddle, is only employed in
exceptional cases, whereas the " bladder-arrow " suffices for ordi-
nary use. I do not know where the more general use of the
large harpoon and bladder begins ; but in Greenland, in accord-
ance with ancient custom, a boy is not considered a seal-catcher
before he has captured his first seal in this way.
Now there is still one invention to be mentioned as indispen-
sable in completing the large harpoon. This improvement also
makes its appearance gradually from south to north, almost side
by side with the loose bladder. Experience must early have
shown the usefulness of fasieuing the point of the javelin on its
shaft in such a manner, that after having hit the game it will be
detached from the end of the shaft, and only remain fastened to
it hanging by a strap. In Southern Alaska we see this tried in
different ways, but further to the north, along Behring Strait, it
is more perfectly performed. The use of the large harpoon
especially required that the point should get wholly rid of the
shaft, and the latter be allowed to remain floating separately ;
while the seal runs off with the line and the bladder. For
this purpose the foremost part of the shaft is made with a joint,
which enables it to be bent, whereupon the point and line will
directly fall off. The movements of the seal in its struggle will
occasion this. The same flexibility is given to the lance,
by their Progress in Completing the Kayak Implements. 71
whereas, on the small harpoon, or "bladder-arrow," the point has
been destined to remain fixed immovably to the shaft.
Finally, we have to consider that side by side with the im-
provements of the implements the kayak itself is rendered more
suitable for its purpose by the necessary adjustment of its form
and size. A peculiar construction, and especially a certain
degree of narrowness of the kayak, was still required in order to
enable the kayaker to rise to the surface again by means of his
paddle, in case he was capsized. This art, which in Greenland
also has been considered one of the indispensable accomplish-
ments of a seal hunter, is, as far as I have been able to
discover, only exceptionally known in other Eskimo countries.
Moreover, it may be added as a curiosity in the history of the
development of the kayak implements, that the extreme east
of Greenland can still boast of one or two small improvements
unknown on the west coast of the same country.
DISCUSSION.
Dr. JOHN BAE on being asked to address the meeting said, that
anything either spoken or written by Dr. Rink, regarding the
Eskimo, must demand the greatest respect and attention of every-
one. Especially is this the case as regards the natives of Greenland,
of whom Dr. Rink knows, from personal knowledge, more than
any other man living, having made himself as far as possible,
master of the subject.
As regards the Eskimo from Hudson's Bay, westward to
Behring Strait, Dr. Rink's evidence is not of equally great value,
depending as it does on the report of others, and not on his own
observation. Dr. Rae entirely agrees with Dr. Rink's remarks on
certain advantages of the Greenlanders' kayak, and the expert-
ness of the kayaker himself, over those of the natives further
west, where the kayak is much broader in the after part, there-
fore less liable to capsize, and could not be "righted" by the
' kayaker as the man of Greenland does when capsized. He had
seen kayaks capsize both at the McKenzie River and in Hudson's
Bay, and but for the presence of others the men would have been
drowned. Along all the Arctic coast from McKenzie River to
Hudson's Bay the double paddle is used, so also is the waterproof
sealskin coat, tied round the wrists, the face, and round the rim
at opening where the man sits.
The various parts of the kayak as mentioned by Dr. Rink, with
the exception of one weapon, were well illustrated by a model
of a Greenland one shown by Dr. Rae.
Dr. Rink said he had tried to demonstrate that the interior
of Alaska was the probable home of the Eskimo tribe, and his
oriyinal boat the birch bark canoe, which, he still uses on the
rivers of Alaska, "just like his Indian neighbours." Dr. Rae, with
much diffidence ventured to differ entirely trom this view, and his
72 Discussion.
opinions are on record in the journals of the Ethnological Society
and Anthropological Institute ; his belief being that the old home
of the Eskimo tribe was the north-eastern portion of Asia, and
that in their emigration to America they came from the west and
crossed the sea, probably at Behring Strait.
Dr. Rae further thought that the original boat of the Eskimo was
made of skin, and that when they went inland by the great rivers
of Alaska and made a new home there, they, being an adaptive and
clever people, naturally took to building and using bark canoes, as
being more readily and easily made, and cheaper, as sealskins could
not be obtained, except with difficulty. Dr. Rae considered that,
under the circumstances, a change from skin kayak to bark
canoe was no sign of degenerating, but rather shewed intelligence
and ingenuity.
Mr. H. W. SETON-KARR observed that the model which Dr. Rae
exhibited was the true kayak having only one hatch. The two
models which the speaker exhibited were of three hatch bidarkies,
as this kind of canoe is named in Central Southern Alaska. The
sealskin canoe is not known further south than the Copper River.
From this point west to the Aleutian Islands these bidarkies are
one, two, and three hatch, rarely one hatch. Two and three hatch
bidarkies were formerly confined exclusively to the Aleutian
Islands. North of Bristol Bay only one hatch bidarkies are used.
This is the kayak proper. Mr. Seton-Karr exhibited an Eskimo
gut coat which he always wore himself, but he explained that he
could not put it on as it was necessary always to wet these coats
or kamleygas in order to soften them first. He understood that
this word was from a Siberian word, kamlaia meaning " deer-skin
coat." Wearing these coats in a bidarky or kayak, and having
them firmly lashed to the rim of the hole, one can pass through
rough water and even breaking surf in safety. Bows and arrows
are certainly carried upon the canoe in Prince William Sound and
Cook's Inlet. He exhibited some of the bows and arrows used for
sea-otter hunting. The barb is fixed lightly in the end of the arrow
and remains fixed in the sea otter while the shaft becomes detached,
and the gut string unwinds. The shaft then floats at right angles
to the cord, and, acting as a drag, soon exhausts the animal. The
arrow is winged with eagle's feathers, and the fore part of the
shaft is white bone from a whale's jaw.
Mr. Petroff (who was a census agent for enumerating some of
the Indian tribes in South Alaska in 1878-1880, and who was
sitting near Mr. Seton-Karr at supper when the Alaska Company's
agent was shot at with slugs from outside the house and killed by
his side by a Russian Indian) considers that the Eskimo reacLed
the coast from the interior.
Sir ERASMUS OMMANNEY, remarked that in his arctic voyages he
had visited the settlements in Greenland, Okkuk in Labrador; on
his search after Franklin's expedition he communicated with the
small tribe located on the coast at the extreme north of Baffin's
Discussion. 73
Bay and the entrance of Smith's Sound, lat. 78° N"., from whom he
brought to England he believed the only Eskimo ever brought to
this country, the tribe in question being isolated entirely from the
habitable world, e^en from the Eskimo in southern Greenland,
from whom they were separated by hundreds of miles of glacier.
This singular tribe were first discovered by Captain John Boss in
1818; until then they believed themselves to be the sole possessors
of the earth ; on beholding Ross's ship they were amazed ' and
terrified with fright, wondering with awe what the apparition of
the ship would entail upon them.
It was at Cape York that the speaker fell in with these people,
and induced one of them to join the ship, with a view to make him
useful in his search for Franklin ; the youth was about eighteen
years old ; he came aboard with three companions. On being taken
into the engine room the furnaces astonished them, but when the
engine was started they bolted on deck with fright. Being anxious
to proceed, as he had a wish to bid farewell to his friends, he went
on to the Wolstenholme Sound where he ascertained that H.M.S.
" North Star " had wintered there. The Eskimo was named
Erasmus York; he conducted the speaker to the winter quarters of
his tribe, which consisted of several huts built with stones into a
dome shape. Several dead natives were found in their huts lying in
their clothing of sealskin, and there was a place of sepulture for the
dead. A spear was removed from a grave by one of the officers,
which called forth tears and entreaties from the natives, as they
hold a superstition that the spear is required after death for hunting
in another world.
As regards the origin of these people, this native gave evidence
of Asiatic descent: in form and features he was of Mongolian type,
the eyes being placed in an angular line as in the Chinese, wide
apart, high cheek bones, flattish nose, sallow complexion, straight
black hair, wide across the forehead, about five feet four inches
in height. From the traces of their settlements along the south
shores of the Parry Islands, it must be concluded that these
people had in former times gradually migrated from Behring's
Straits.
It is remarkable that the habits, dress, and implements corres-
pond with those of the Eskimo on the continent, Labrador, and
South Greenland.
He passed the winter with the party after Sir Erasmus Omman-
ney had discovered the first traces ever found of Franklin's ships ;
the party was frozen up for eleven months, and during that time
he became accustomed to our habits and learnt to read and write.
On the speaker's return to England he was sent to the Missionary
College of St. Augustine's College, Canterbury, for three years ;
the mind did not expand beyond the rudiments of the three B's.
He was docile, amiable, taciturn, had naturally good manners, and
was devoid of excitement. He showed a taste for drawing ; and
delineated a good map of the country and coast of his native land.
The animals on which these people subsisted were seals, walrus,
74 Discussion.
deer, and birds. They did not possess the kayak, or canoe, in use
by the other Eskimo.
Sir LEOPOLD McCLiNTOCK desired to express his admiration of
the genius and the enthusiastic perseverance of the author of the
paper, Dr. Bink, through whose labours our knowledge of the
habits and traditions of the Greenland Eskimo has been so greatly
increased.
He exhibited to the meeting some interesting woodcuts, being
the work of these people in Greenland, illustrating their mode of
life, their traditions, including their conflicts with the Scandinavians
and their weapons. Dr. Rink, who had fostered these efforts at
producing woodcuts, very justly appealed to them as evidence of
the capacity of the Greenlanders for improvement and elevation.
Sir Leopold also exhibited a toy sledge, from the Eskimo
living under the 78th parallel — and therefore nearer to the North
Pole than any other people. It was composed, like their large
sledges, of pieces of drift wood, bones, and walrus ivory, ingeniously
bound together with strings of seal skin. He remarked that here
in the north-west corner of Greenland, the further migration of
the Eskimo was checked by impassible limits of ice and snow,
and in this desperately severe climate, their privations were so
great that their lives were spent in a constant struggle for sub-
sistence ; they were unable to supply themselves with kayaks, or
bows and arrows. They were but few in number and they were
decreasing yearly. In reply to the President he said he saw no
greater difference between this remote tribe and other Eskimo
further south along the shores of Baffin's Bay than was due to the
greater severity of their climate and the greater privations they
were subjected to.
Miss BUCKLAND requested some of the Arctic explorers to inform
her whether bows made of bone were used by the Eskimo, as
there were two in the Bath Museum among relics brought over
by Ross or Parry, which she understood had been taken from
Eskimo graves, and as one was broken, she wished to know whether
it is the custom of these people to break weapons and other imple-
ments buried with the dead as is done by some races either with
the idea of sending the spirit of the implement to join the spirit
of the man, or with, the more utilitarian idea of preventing its
being abstracted and used by the living.
Professor FLOWER read extracts from two letters addressed to
him by Mr. COUTTS TROTTER, dated from s.s. " Llibeck," between
Samoa and Sydney, December 19th and 22nd, 1886.
C. TitOTTEK. — Natives of the Polynesian Islands. 75
NOTES on the NATIVES of the POLYNESIAN ISLANDS.
By COUTTS TROTTER, Esq.
RECOLLECTING the interest you have taken in the natives of these
islands, and the study you have given to them, I cannot resist
giving you one or two general impressions that struck me, not
that they can be of the smallest value. I need hardly say how
often I wished for your presence while puzzling over the
different types of face that one sees. One curious thing is the
way they all resolve themselves into a few groups, within each
of which all the individuals are so closely alike, that it is all
but impossible to distinguish them, so that you are constantly
reduced to the alternative either of cutting your acquaintance
or of saluting a stranger, and in these sociable regions the latter
plan is much the less likely to give offence. This appearance
of running into groups may be merely the way one's eye
behaves among new surroundings, but I think the small
numbers and isolation of the people, their tribal systems, and
some of their customs, e.g., the practice, for political or social
reasons, of keeping up certain large circles of connection or
cousinship, may have something to do with it. Then, besides
the varieties in each island, you have the effects of intercourse
between the groups. In the east of Fiji the Tongans have
more than half swamped the Fijians, and one traces Fijian
blood in Tonga, and also even in Samoa. In fact one of the
characteristic Samoan types — a broad, rounded, good humoured
face, with eyes slightly smaller than average, and in the women
always ready to dimple into smiles — always seemed to me to
have something Fijian in it, though after all, this is perhaps
only an element common to the three groups, for this pleasant
rounded female face, which at last you begin to think quite
pretty, has a sort of counterpart, with a difference, in Tonga,
where perhaps it is rather prettier. Another different, and
equally characteristic, type of Samoan man has peculiarly clean
straight cut eyes and brows, giving a rather cold, hard, distingut
expression. By the way, are all these people mesorrhine ? My
eyes may have deceived me, or become used to the type, but I
should say many of the faces one sees have the lower part of the
nose no wider than a European.
Of course you meet plenty of rnen and women without either
fine figures or handsome faces, but a large proportion have fine
figures and carry themselves well, and there is a smaller but
relatively considerable number of men perfectly magnificent in
size and proportion from head to foot, never falling away below
the knee like some of the otherwise fine Indian races, and many
76 C. THOTTEE.— On the Natives of
of the young women have perfect busts and figures that seem to
tread on air.
The women carry themselves even better than the men,
who often slouch a little, and it is remarkable that the old
women do not become hags, but the figure remains perfectly
slim and upright, and very elegant. The way they are trained
to wralk has something to do with this, the shoulders square, and
the head thrown back, the arms at every step (this especially in
Tonga) swung well behind them. But in Tonga the beauty of
the human figure is seen no more, for the ex-reverend Premier,
whether for moral or financial reasons I leave you to judge, has
decreed and strictly enforces a heavy fine on every man who is
seen, even inside his fence, without a shirt, and on any woman
not muffled in a pinafore. The rule does not anyhow tend to
cleanliness, and it also makes it less easy than formerly to com-
pare the colour of Samoans and Tongans. To my eye there is
distinctly a shade more of yellow in the former, a slight excess
of copper, in short, in the Samoan bronze. The upper class is
by no means fairer than the lower (probably the two are much
mixed), anyhow I saw conspicuous examples of the contrary.
The Tongan royal family, for instance, the Tubo, is exceptionally
dark, as is the family of Thakombau in Fiji (I forget in which
of the Polynesian groups they have a saying to the effect
that the chief is dark and the common man fair).
Of Fiji I saw very little beyond parts of Viti Levu, but
there too, mingling with the usual broad-faced, dark brown
type, I constantly detected another, with an elliptical-shaped
face, high and narrow forehead, projecting brows, skin rather
black than brown, altogether a more negroid look, but this type
again, or modifications of it, is not confined to the Kai-si
(common people). By the way — language apart — wherever we
may be pleased to class the typical Fijian, he is to the
ordinary observer distinctly much nearer to the Samoan and
Tongan than he is to the Solomon or New Hebrides man,
and he is a far finer looking fellow than these Melanesians.
I have not seen many New Hebrides people, but I have seen
numbers of the Solomons, and was much struck by their
diminutive size ; very small heads, but clean, lithe, active little
fellows. But as regards the Fijian you cannot help feeling
that however " interesting," he has not the mental capacity of
either Tongan or Samoan, though (as has been noticed before),
his artistic powers seem greater or more developed. But what
struck me as especially curious was the occurrence both in
Samoa and Tonga, but especially in the latter, of very marked
" Mongolian " or Japanese features. I recall particularly a
granddaughter of the King of Tonga, with a small slight figure.
the Polynesian Islands. 77
dark, but sallow, small features, distinctly oblique eyes, and long,
black hair, drawn up off the forehead into a top knot, who
might have walked off' a Japanese fan or plate. I suppose these
are only the result of accidental importation ? In the Tokelaus
(Ellice group) many of whom one meets as imported labour, the
Mongoloid look is also very strong. Several of their women I
saw, if appropriately dressed, would be undistinguishable from
North American squaws.
] regret — among many regrets — that I could not go to
Rotumah. The Rotuuiah boys, whom one constantly meets as
sailors, are the handsomest Pacific islanders I have seen ; but in
an island of this size, which has been frequented by whalers for
generations past, there must be a large infusion of European
blood, a circumstance which, I take it, modifies the type in
many of the groups to a greater extent than is commonly allowed
for. I am ashamed at having gone on gossipping to this length,
and will say nothing about the charming manners and refined
nature of the people — for everyone has noticed this. Such a
contrast in real innate politeness to the Arabs for instance,
who are supposed to be a polite people, and their houses so
infinitely cleaner and pleasanter. Perhaps after all, their cricket
and their music are the most wonderful things about them,
showing their extraordinary powers of adaptation — you see these
men, naked from the waist upwards, and bare legged, standing
up to swift bowling, fielding splendidly, wicket keeping, going
" over," just like so many born Britishers ; and the way they have
taken up European music, when well taught, as by Mr. Moulton
in Tonga, is equally remarkable, especially when one remembers
how essentially different it is from their own. I enjoyed their
own proper music, and it grows strongly on you. There is a
great deal of melody, the most perfect and intricate time, and
distinct harmony, but there is something essentially different
from our music, and often I heard songs which I do not think
could be rendered by our system of notation.
Once more excuse the length to which I have run on. I wish
I could have sent you anything of real value, but to have done
this would require, besides the previous training and technical
knowledge which I do not possess, a far longer residence in the
islands, and a knowledge of the language.
I have heard two or three times of stone implements being
dug up at considerable depths in the Fiji Islands, and in one
case the implements were quarried out of a reef, which argues
long habitation. I enclose a sketch of a celt, dug up some two
feet deep in the Rewa River, and another of a curious sort of
gouge. 1 believe these last have been found elsewhere, but I
have not heard of them in Fiji. The material of the gouge
78 C. TROTTER. — Natives of the Polynesian Islands.
appeared to be a fine grained basalt. Dr. Macgregor, to whom
they belong, showed me a large and very thick, heavy celt, also
of basalt, and much worn, which was found at nine or ten feet
depth in alluvium.
ANTHROPOLOGICAL MISCELLANEA.
LECTURES ON ANTHROPOLOGY.
A course of three lectures on " Heredity and Nurture " will, with
the permission of the Lords of the Committee of Council on
Education, be given at the South Kensington Museum, on behalf
of the Anthropological Institute, by Mr. Francis Galton, F.R.S.,
President of the Institute.
The Lectures will take place on Saturday afternoons, November
12, 19, and 26, at 4.30 p.m.: — Lecture 1. November 12th.
Observed diversity in the bodily and mental characteristics of
individuals. Anthropometric tests, and records of life-histories.
Lecture 2. November 19th. Limits to the inheritance of ancestral
peculiarities, and to the hereditary transmission of disease.
Individual variation. Lecture 3. November 26th. Influences of
various kinds of nurture, training, and occupation on the average
vigour, longevity, and disposition, of large classes of persons.
Recapitulation and suggestions.
Demonstrations of anthropometric methods will be given at the
close of each lecture, so far as time permits.
Students in Training, National Scholars, and registered Students
of the Department of Science and Art will be admitted free. The
Public will be admitted on payment of a registration fee of Is. for
the course.
BRITISH ASSOCIATION MEETING.
The fifty-seventh Meeting of the British Association for the
Advancement of Science will be held at Manchester under the
Presidency of Sir Henry Roscoe, M P., LL.D., D.C.L., F.R.S.,
commencing on Wednesday, August 31st. Section H, devoted to
Anthropology, will be presided over by the Rev. Professor A. H.
Sayce, M.A. Papers to be read at this meeting should be sent as
early as possible, with Abstracts, to the offices of the Association
22, Albemarle-street, or to Mr. G. W. Bloxam, Recorder of Section
H, at the rooms of the Anthropological Institute, 3, Hanover-square,
W. It is proposed to form a museum of objects of anthropological
interest to be open during the week of meeting. Persons desirous
of contributing to this museum should give due notice to the
Recorder.
80 Anthropological Miscellanea.
ARCHJ:OLOGICAL MEETING.
The Annual Meeting of the Royal Archaeological Institute of
Great Britain will be held ut Salisbury, under the Presidency
of Lieutenant-General Pitt-Rivers, D.C.L., F.R.S., F.S.A., com-
mencing on Tuesday, August 2nd, when the President will deliver
the inaugural address.
The Romano-British villages, described by General Pitt-Rivers
at the last meeting of the Anthropological Institute will be
visited on August 9th.
At the conclusion of the Salisbury meeting a party will proceed
to Brittany for the purpose of studying the prehistoric monuments
and other objects of archaeological interest. It is proposed to visit
Cherbourg, Contances, Mt. St. Michel, Rennes, Vannes, Carnac,
Quimper, &c.
CHINESE SUPERSTITION.
" On rapporte d'apres des temoignages serieux que lea pirates
chinois qui ont assassine recemment M. Haitce, membre de la
mission de delimitation du Tonkin, a Monkay, ont mange son coeur
et son foie et bu son fiel delaye dans de l'eau-de-vie de riz. Us
croyaient faire passer ainsi le courage du jeune Francais dans leur
corps. Ce fait indique une superstition que Ton retrouve dans
presque toutes les religions." — From the " Materiaux pour 1'histoire
naturelle et primitive de l'homme," July, 1887, p. 300.
Journ. Anthrop. Inst., Vol. XVII, PI. IV.
SPINNING TOPS. See page 89.
THE JOURNAL
OF THE
ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE
GEEAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
APRIL 26TH, 1887.
FRANCIS GALTON, Esq., F.E.S., President, in the Chair.
The Minutes of the last meeting were read and signed.
The election of G. B. HOWES, Esq., F.L.S., F.Z.S, Assistant
Professor of Biology at the Normal School of Science, South
Kensington, was announced.
The following presents were announced, and thanks voted to
the respective donors : —
FOB THE LIBRARY.
From the Rev. G. BROWN. — A Comparison of the Dialects of East
and West Polynesian, Malay, Malagasy, and Australian. By
the Rev. George Pratt.
From the UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. — Geological History
of Lake Lahontan. By Israel Cook Russell.
From the YORKSHIRE PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. — Annual Report for
1886.
From the SCOTTISH GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY. — The Scottish Geo-
graphical Magazine. Vol. iii, Nos. 1-4.
From the DEUTSCHE GESELLSCHAFT FUR ANTHROPOLOGIE, ETHNOLOGIE,
UND URGESCHICHTE. — Correspondenz-Blatt. 1887. Nos. 2, 3.
VOL. XVII. G
82 List of Presents.
From the BERLIN GESELLSCHAFT FUR ANTHROPOLOGIE, ETHNOLOGIE,
UNO URGESCHICHTE. — Zeitschrift fiir Ethnologie. 1886. Heft 2.
From the AUTHOR. — A Few Additional Notes Concerning Indian
Games. By Andrew McFarland Davis.
L'Anthropologie et la Science Politique. By M. G. de Laponge.
La Race Humaine de Neanderthal ou de Canstadt en Belgique.
By Julien Fraipont and Maximin Lohest.
Studi sul Darwinismo, By Francesco de Sarlo.
— • I Sogni. Saegio psicologico. By F. de Sarlo.
Das Grabfeld von Elisried und die Beziehungen der Ethno-
logie zu den Besultaten der Anthropologio. By J. Kollmann.
• Un Caballito Peruviano. By Dr. Paolo Riccardi.
— Circonferenza Toracica e Statura studiate a seconda de 1'eta
e del sesso in una serie di Bolognesi. By Dr. Paolo Riccardi.
Intorno a la Oscillazioni giornaliere de la Statura ne I'uomo
sano. By Dr. Paolo Riccardi.
• • Studio sopra una serie di crani di Fuegini. By P. Mante-
gazza and E. Regalia.
• Antropologia dell'Italia nell'evo antico e nel moderno. By
Giustiuiano Nicolucci.
From the BATAVIAASCH GENOOTSCHAP VAN KUNSTEN EN WETEN-
SCHAPPEN. — Notulen. Deel xxiv. Afl. 4.
Catalogus der Archeologische Yerzameling.
From the KONINKLIJKE AKADEMIE VAN WETBNSCHAPPEN, AMSTERDAM.
— Jaarbock. 1885.
• Yerslagen en Mededeelingen. Afdeeling Natuurkunde. Derde
Reeks. — Deel ii.
From the AKADEMIJA UMIEJETNOSCI w KRAKOWIE. — Zbidr wiado-
mosci do Antropologii Krajowej. Tom. x.
Rozprawy i Sprawozdania z Posiedzen. Tom. xiii, xiv.
Pamietmk. Tom. xii.
From the MAGYAR TUI>OMANYOS ARABS' MIA.— Almanach 1886.
- Nyelvtudomanyi ertekezesek, xii, 6-12 ; xiii, 1, 2, 5.
Nyelvtudomanyi Kozlemenyek, xix, 2, 3.
Nyelvemlektar, xiii.
Tortenettudomanyi Ertekezesek, xii, 3. 5-10 ; xiii, 1, 3.
Tarsadalmi Ertekezesek, vii, 10 ; viii, 1, 6.
— Danko Jozsef. A franczia konyvdisz.
Fejerpataky Laszlo. A kiralyi cancellaria az Arpadok
koraban.
Dr. Wlassies Gyula. A biinkiserlet es bevegzett biineselek-
meny.
- Ungarische Revue. 1885, 8-10 ; 1886, 1-10.
Bulletin, iv, v.
Naturwissenschaftliche Berichte. iii.
From the IMPERIAL UNIVERSITY, JAPAN. — Journal of the College of
Science. Vol. i, parts 1, 2.
Memoirs of the Literature College. No. 1.
From the ASSOCIATION. — Proceedings of the Geologists' Associa-
tion. Vol. x. No. 1.
E. CUNNINGHAM. — Exhibition of Natives of Queensland. 83
From the ASSOCIATION. — Journal of the East India Association.
Vol. xix. No. 4.
Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Associa-
tion of Ireland. Fourth series. Nos. 68, 69.
From the INSTITUTE. — Proceedings of the Canadian Institute.
No. 147.
From the SOCIETY. — Journal of the Society of Arts. Nos. 1792-
1796.
Proceedings of the Royal Society. No. 252.
— Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society. 1887.
No. 4.
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. 1885-
86.
Bulletins de la Societe d'Anthropologie de Paris. 1886.
Fas. 4.
Bulletin de 1'Academie Imperiale des Sciences de St. Peters-
bourg. T. xxxi, No. 4.
Bulletin de la Societe Imperiale des Naturalistes de Moscou.
1886, No. 4 ; 1887, Nos. 1, 2.
Bulletin de la Societe Neuchateloise de Geographic. Tom. ii.
Fas. 3.
- Boletim da Sociedade de Geographia de Lisboa. Nos. 7, 8.
From the LIBRARIAN. — Report of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow,
1886.
From the EDITOR. —Nature. Nos. 908-912.
journal of Mental Science. Vol. xxxiii. No. 141.
American Antiquarian. Vol. ix. No. 2.
— Science. Nos. 215-218.
Photographic Times. Nos. 286-291.
Kosmos. Vol. i. No. 2.
Revue d'Ethnographie. Tom. v. No. 6.
- L'Homme. 1886, No. 24; 1887, Nos. 1-4.
Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana. Tom. iii. Nos. 1, 2.
EXHIBITION of NATIVES of QUEENSLAND.
By Mr. E. A. CUNNINGHAM.
Mr. CUNNINGHAM exhibited three natives of Northern Queens-
land, namely a man named " Billy," a woman " Jenny," and a
boy known as " Little Toby." About five years ago he brought
them, with much difficulty, from Australia, accompanied by
several other natives, since dead. They had been scientifically
examined by the Anthropological Societies of Berlin, Paris,
Brussels, and Eussia; and had travelled for public exhibition
through the chief cities of Australia, the United States, Canada,
G 2
84 Discussion.
and parts of Europe, including Moscow and Constantinople.
Mr. Cunningham in giving a brief description of their manners
and customs, called attention to the cicatrices on their bodies,
which were regarded as ornamental, and resulted from wounds
made by means of sharp stones or fragments of glass from
broken bottles. In illustration of the method of throwing the
boomerang, the natives experimented with paper models and
displayed great skill in throwing these mimic weapons so as to
ensure a return flight across the room. They gave illustrations
of a corroborie, sang several native songs, and attempted to
count a number of objects laid before them. Excellent por-
traits of the two adults are in the collection of photographs
presented to the Institute by Prince Roland Bonaparte.
DISCUSSION,
The Rev. W. WTATT GILL said that he had more than once
visited the places (Cardwell and Palm Island in Northern Queens-
land) from which these aboriginal Australians came. He described
them as being fairly typical specimens of the race, except that they
were of a much lighter colour — owing to enforced frequent ablu-
tions— than can be met with in their own country. Despite the
arguments of learned men, the speaker held to the conviction, based
on personal observation, that the aborigines of Australia, and of
south-western New Guinea are substantially one race. It is an ascer-
tained fact that the coast tribes of New Guinea are immigrant; and
are now much intermixed through, marriage with the true aborigines
of that interesting island. The similarity of their customs is most
striking to one who (like himself) had seen a great deal of both
Australian and South- wes.'ern New Guinea natives. They, too,
were nomads, — not the coast tribes, but the inland aboriginal natives
of south-western New Guinea. This view is fully endorsed by the
speaker's friend, the Rev. James Chalmers.
Mr, Wyatt Gill proceeded to say that in a few months he hoped
again to be in Sydney, and that there were several scientific men
there who took a deep interest in the proceedings of the Anthro-
pological Institute. They hoped ere very long that a somewhat
similar society of their own would be formed. Their nearness to the
islands of the Pacific and New Guinea, besides the presence of an
aboriginal race, are highly favourable circumstances. As many of
these aboriginal races are fast dying out, no time is to be lost in
gathering up all that can possibly be known of their characteristics,
habits, thoughts, worship, and language.
The following paper was then read by the author : —
C. H. BEAD. — Stone Spinning Tops. 85
STONE SPINNING TOPS from TORRES STRAITS, NEW GUINEA.
By C. H. READ, F.S.A.
[WITH PLATE iv.]
THE subject of my paper this evening may perhaps be thought
a somewhat trivial one to bring before a learned society, but I
hope that it may be found not without some bearing on more
obviously important matters. I have, however, merely put
together a few notes upon these spinning tops, leaving it to
others to draw what inference they might from the facts brought
forward.
Among a number of objects from New Guinea recently added
to the ethnographical collections at the British Museum are the
two stone tops of which I exhibit this evening full-sized draw-
ings. They are the first of their kind that I have seen from
this part of the world, and it, therefore, seemed to me to be
worth while to bring them before the notice of the Institute.
The tops are made of a buff grey sandstone, ground into a
lenticular form, 5| and 4| inches in diameter respectively, the
upper faces being, however, much less convex than the lower, and
the outlines of both are fairly circular. In the central hole of each
is fixed a stick of palm wood, the larger, 11^ inches, and the smaller
8f inches, in length, about half-an-inch of which projects on the
under side, and the lower part of each stick is painted of a dull red
colour. The most remarkable part of these objects is, however,
the design which each of them bears on the upper face. Upon
the larger of the two is painted in red ochre a standing figure, in
profile to the left, of a native with his two arms held up in front
of him, and holding some object from which proceeds a curved
line, in appearance like a jet of water. The figure is remarkably
well drawn, and evidently represents a native in his holiday
dress. His head is decorated with three plumes, probably of
feathers of the cassowary or of the bird of paradise, and he has
two others at the back of his waistband, and behind him are two
circular patches of red. Bound the edge of the top is a line of
red.
The smaller top is painted, or rather stained, with a figure
in black, with faint touches of red and yellow. The design
is a standing figure, full face, of a character less readily
understood than the other. The figure wears apparently
trousers, reaching below the knee, has the left hand resting
upon the hip, and the right raised and holding an object, which
may be a club, though it is not unlike a bottle. The head has
apparently been painted in red, and is now but faintly indicated,
86 C. H. BEAD. — Stone Spinning Tops
having been very nmch rubbed before it reached my hands. A
suspicion has been borne in upon my mind that this painting
may be intended to represent a white man with the bottle, which
is but too often his companion when living among savages. In
the carvings of the West African negroes, the typical white
man is constantly figured with a brandy bottle in one hand and
a large glass in the other, while in the Nicobar Islands the
figure of the British sailor occurs very frequently in the clever
sculptures executed by the natives. Among all savages, indeed,
who have any pictorial skill, and few have not, the clothed
white man is a subject which the artist cannot resist. It may,
therefore, well be that the figure on this top is intended to be an
European in the attitude which seemed to the painter most
characteristic.
These specimens were obtained by the Eev. S. McFarlane, on
Murray Island, in Torres Straits, lat. 9° 55' S., long. 144° 2' E.
Mr. McFarlane has been for many years a missionary in New
Guinea, and has visited and lived among most of the tribes of
the islands of Torres Straits, of the mainland near the Baxter
and Fly Eivers, as well as those of the South-eastern peninsula
towards China Straits. He is, therefore, eminently qualified to
speak of the habits of the savages of this part of the world. He
tells me that these tops are undoubtedly made and used by the
natives of Murray Island, although tops are not common toys
among the Papuans.
As far as I can gather from Mr. McFarlane, these tops are
used simply as toys, much as in our own country, and I did not
understand that they were either the means of gambling, nor
were they employed in any other special manner. With regard
to their use I can, therefore, find little to say.
The making of them, however, must have been a tedious
operation, upon which a considerable amount of time was
expended. The process is no doubt the same as that employed
in making the circular stone discs used by the Motu, and some
other tribes, for the heads of their clubs. This, according to
Mr. Stone ("A Few Months in New Guinea," p. 57), is to hammer
the stone incessantly with another and harder stone, until it is
brought to the required shape ; after which it is ground smooth,
with a sharp edge all round, the operation taking several weeks.
If the Murray Islanders possess a drill, like the Koitapu of
Fairfax Harbour, the piercing of the central hole would be a
work of no difficulty — but even without a drill it would be
merely a matter of time if a pointed stone or sharp shell were
used, and the exact centre had been previously found. The
only really difficult part of the work, and the part in which
something more than mere patience was needed, is the grinding
from Torres Straits, New Guinea. 87
of the convex underside. It is obvious that if the disc were
thicker, and therefore heavier, at one side than another, the top
when spun, would describe but very few revolutions, and would
speedily come to a standstill. The curves of these two speci-
mens are, however, very true, one of them being slightly better
than the other, so that when it is energetically spun, it revolves
quite evenly in one spot, a process known to school boys as
" going to sleep."
I have called these objects tops, though, as they seem to be
spun with the hands only, teetotum would be a more accurate
term.
With regard to the subjects painted upon them, Mr.
McFarlane could not speak with certainty, but suggested that
the figure on the larger top represented a native in his dancing
dress.
The dances of the Torres Straits islanders are practised at
night, and have for their object success in hunting and fishing.
It is on these occasions that the extraordinary masks of tortoise-
shell are used, and I assume that the form of the masks to be
worn would have relation to the particular sport to be engaged
in, for example, in the dance to ensure success in fishing, the
mask would represent a fish, and so on. Instances of similar
dances among savages of other parts of the world will readily
suggest themselves to many members present. The series
of tortoiseshell masks at the British Museum now contains a
good number of specimens, the greater part of which have been
sent home by Mr. McFarlane. They represent human heads,
fishes, a pig's head, and the largest is an alligator, between six
and seven feet long. This we obtained from Mr. McFarlane,
and he tells me that the youth who made it actually copied it
from the real animal placed before him, and thinking a more
artistic effect would be obtained by the alligator's mouth being
open, he placed a stick between its jaws to prop them apart,
and so they remain in the tortoiseshell copy. I think this
indicates an amount of artistic feeling unusual among savages,
who are wont to be content with the conventional styles of re-
presentation handed down from their forefathers, and but seldom
refer to the original type for inspiration.
To return, however, to the subject of my paper. The larger
top, I think, we may consider shows a Papuan in gala dress,
and probably engaged in a propitiatory dance. In the case of
the smaller one, Mr. McFarlane could offer no suggestion as to
the subject, and was, on the whole, inclined to think with me,
that it represented an European, with his trousers rolled up and
holding a bottle in his hand, in fact, just as he would often be
seen by the natives. If this be so, it would be an indication
88 G. H. READ. — Stone Spinning Tops
that the decoration of the top, and perhaps the top itself, is of
no great age, perhaps ten to thirty years.
I do not think it very probable, though it is, of course,
possible, that the natives of the Torres Straits islands invented
spinning tops for themselves. It is far more likely that they
received the idea from a more cultured and ingenious race ; for,
apart from the rarity of the occurrence of this toy among savage
tribes, it is evident that the notion of a spinning top, a very com-
plex toy, would be little likely to spring ready made into the
mind of a people of the mental calibre of the Papuan. We must,
therefore, look elsewhere than among the races of New Guinea
for the origin of the toy, and it is, of course, towards the neigh-
bouring Asiatic Archipelago, to the west and north, that our first
glance would be directed. On the south is Australia, the nearest
point of which (80 miles distant) is inhabited by tribes far
inferior in physique, and of more limited resources than the
Torres Straits islanders themselves; to the east is the Pacific,
where live races but little more cultivated than the Papuan, and
very little, if at all, more inventive.
Among the Asiatic islands, however, I have not been so
successful as I anticipated in finding spinning tops greatly used.
In one of the drawings, I show a full-sized figure of a spinning
top from Timorlaut, one of the Tenimber Islands, whence it was
brought by Mr. H. 0. Forbes, now in New Guinea, This
specimen is neither of the same form nor material as those from
New Guinea, but the mere fact of a top on the same principle
being used by a tribe so comparatively near is, I think, worthy
of note. As showing the close connection between distant parts
of the archipelago, I would mention the great likeness between
the drums used in these Tenimber Islands, Dutch New Guinea,
and the Philippines (Luzon). The habit of chewing the betel
nut, also practised by many of the tribes of the Papuan Gulf,
even down to the extreme south-east, came of course from the
Asiatic islands, and no doubt tobacco smoking was introduced
from the same source. These facts form at all events, prima
facie evidence of the Asiatic origin of top spinning among the
Papuans.
In illustration of the Torres Straits tops, I exhibit full sized
drawings of four other tops. One from the Straits Settlements,
is a humming top, made of a section of bamboo, with an oblong
opening in the side ; the second is of precisely the same form,
and is stated to come from the Stewart Group (Sakayana), lying
a little to the east of the Solomon Islands. I must confess,
however, to having some doubts about the correctness of this
locality, though the specimen came from the Godeffroy Col-
lection, where they have the best means of testing its accuracy.
from Torres Straits, New Guinea. 89
The third is a Malay top (gasing) made on the lathe, and fur-
nished with an iron peg at the base. It differs from the
European top in having the string wound round the upper part.
The fourth is the top from Timorlaut before mentioned.
This is cut by hand, and is oviform in shape. The long peg on
the upper part is used to wind the thick twisted cord, which is
made of a piece of Manchester print.
I might, with perhaps some advantage, have brought forward
objects similar to these from parts of the East more distant from
New Guinea, from India, China, and Japan. And, as a matter
of fact, the modern Japanese top resembles these in question
more nearly than any other that I am acquainted with. But at
this time my object is simply to bring these curious toys under
the notice of the Institute, and it was, therefore, unnecessary to
go very far afield for analogous instances.
NOTE. — All the specimens, of which drawings were exhibited at the meeting,
are in the British Museum.
Description of Plate IV.
Fig. 1. Teetotum or top. It consists of a lenticular disc of
greyish buff stone ; the upper face is flatter than the
lower, and ornamented (see p. 85.) Length of stick,
8*6 in ; diameter of disc, 4'25 in. ; thickness, 1-.3 in.
Brought from Murray Island, Torres Straits, by the Eev.
S. McFarlane. — British Museum (Christy Collection).
Fig. 2. Teetotum or top, of similar construction and material.
The design on the upper face is in this case entirely in
red ochre, and represents a standing figure of a native,
in profile, to the left ; behind him are two circular spots
of red. His hands are raised in front of the face, and
hold some object from which proceeds a curved line, like
a jet of water. On the head of the figure are three
plumes, curving backwards, and at the back of his waist-
band are two others. Round the edge of the top is a
line of- red. Length of stick, 11*5 in. ; diameter of disc,
59 in. ; thickness, 1'6 in. From Murray Island (Eev.
S. McFarlane). — British Museum (Christy Collection).
Fig. 3. Spinning top of white wood, with stout peg at the top ;
the body oviform. The whole cut with a knife, not made
on the lathe. The string formed of a twisted piece of
Manchester print. Height 4 in. Brought from Ritabel
village, Timorlaut, Tenimber Islands, by Mr. H. 0. Forbes.
— British Museum (Christy Collection}.
90 LIEUT. F. ELTON. — Notes on Natives
Fig. 4 Teetotum or top. The body is formed of a section of
cane 2"2 inches long, and 1*8 in. in diameter, having in
the side an oblong opening cut through diagonally. The
ends are closed with wooden plugs, and through the centre
passes a stick 7 '8 in. in length. From the Straits Settle-
ments. Presented by the Commissioners for the Straits
Settlements at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition, 1886.
— British Museum.
Fig. 5. Teetotum or top, of similar construction and material
to the last, with the exception that at the side the
opening is small and roughly circular. Eound the upper
part of the stick is wound a slightly twisted cord.
Length of stick, 8 in. ; length of body, 3 in. ; diameter,
2 '2 in. Stated to have come from the Stewart Islands
(Sakayana), Western Pacific. From the Godeffroy Collec-
tion, Hamburg. Presented by A. W. Franks, Esq., F.RS.
— British Museum (Christy Collection}.
Fig. 6. Malay top (gasing) made of iron-wood (?), oviform in
shape ; turned on the lathe and having a small iron
point. At the top is a projecting piece, below which the
string is wound. Height, 3'6 in. From Selangor, Straits
Settlements. Presented by the Commissioners for the
Straits Settlements at the Colonial and Indian Exhibi-
tion, 1886. — British Museum.
The following Notes were presented by Lieut. Elton : —
NOTES on NATIVES of the SOLOMON ISLANDS.
By Lieutenant F. ELTON, K.N.
Introductory Remarks.
WHILE serving as a Lieutenant in H.M.S. " Diamond," on the
Australian station, the idea occurred to me to get a little an-
thropological information about the natives in those islands of
the south-western Pacific which contain cannibal inhabitants,
and amongst which the ships of the English fleet in those parts
spend most of their time.
It is usual to find in these island groups some solitary white
man who spends his life among the natives, living in some
respects as they do ; drawing the line at cannibal practices, but
taking more kindly to native ideas of domestic economy as to
the necessary members of a principal man's household. Some-
of the, Solomon Islands. 91
times these white men have no particular occupation or object
in view, but more commonly they act as collectors of " copra "
for some Queensland or other Australian firm, who send a
schooner round at intervals of a few months to pick up the
stuff for sale in Australia.
" Copra " is the name that has been given (I think by some of
the natives) to the insides of cocoa-nuts. Vast forests of cocoa-
nut trees fringe the coasts of the islands, and the natives, for a
consideration, collect the nuts, break off the shell, and, cutting
the inside into two or three pieces, pile up great quantities near
the beach in the white man's grounds. Payment is made chiefly
in tobacco and axes, for these natives understand so little of
the value of gold or silver money that I have known a native,
who received a sovereign from a trader in payment, shortly
afterwards give the sovereign to another trader in exchange for
an ordinary penny box of matches.
In the New Hebrides and the Solomon Islands I found one
or two of these solitary copra collectors, and I propose this
evening to lay before you the information I obtained from the
one living among the Solomon natives. He was a German who
had re-named himself "Howard," and he seemed an observant,
thoughtful, and well-educated man. While very reticent as to
his reasons for having left the Fatherland to take up his abode
in this out-of-the-way spot, he was readily communicative about
the manners and customs of natives around him.
Parenthetically, it may be said of these natives, as it has ere
this been remarked about others, that "manners they have
none, and their customs are beastly " in the matter of devouring
each other.
During one of the periodical visits of H.M.S. " Diamond " to
the Solomons, I wrote down a number of questions of an an-
thropological nature in a note book, and left the book with the
German, asking him to fill in the answers to the best of his
knowledge 'at his leisure.
Some months afterwards, the ship again called at this spot,
and I received my book from " Mr. Howard " with most of my
questions pretty fully answered. These questions and answers
are now before the meeting, but as the exceedingly interesting
exhibition of living specimens of the Australian aborigines has
occupied most of the time at disposal, the matter must un-
avoidably be allowed to stand over till the printing of the
Journal of Proceedings, in which the notes can be read in
detail. I must say that the admirable little publication (too
seldom used by travellers) named " The Admiralty Manual of
Scientific Inquiry," was my guide in making these investi-
gations.
92 LIEUT. F. ELTON. — Notes on Natives
Questions and Answers relating to the Solomon Islands.
Question 1. What is the average height and weight of the
people ? A note of any extreme cases, large or small, will be
interesting.
Answer. The average height is between 5 and 6 feet. The
largest man I have seen on Ugi measured 6 feet 8 inches, his
weight was 184 Ibs. The smallest full grown man was, if I
remember rightly, 4 feet 2 inches in height and his weight was
over 90 Ibs.
Corpulence is not prevalent among the natives of the Solomon
Islands. I have only seen one corpulent man at San Christoval,
and I should think that his weight exceeded 200 Ibs. The
average weight is between 120 and 150 Ibs. : the natives are, on
the whole, well made, and there are not many cripples among
them.
Question 2. Is there any prevailing peculiarity in the shape of
the head, especially about the upper and lower parts ?
Answer. None that I know of. I have found a difference
between skulls from Malayta and San Christoval.
Question 3. What is the usual colour of the eyes and skin ?
Answer. The eyes vary in colour from a light to a very dark
brown, just as the colour of the skin does. On the islands of
St. Anna, San Christoval, Ugi, Ulava, Malayta, Guadalcanal
and Florida the colours of the skin varies greatly from a light
copper colour to a very dark brown almost approaching black.
The beach people on the island of Isabel are the same, while
the bush people at the north end of the same island are of a
remarkably light colour. They are very timid, building their
houses in trees and only coming down to the ground during the
day. The natives of the neighbouring islands, in New Georgia,
&c., are enemies to them, and kill them in great numbers : they
likewise carry them off for the purpose of making them slaves.
The natives of the islands west of the Guadalcanar (namely,
Savo, Eussel Island, New Georgia, Corrystone, Choiseul, Short-
land and Treasury group, and Bougainville) are mostly of a black
colour, there being very few light coloured natives among them.
A skin disease is very prevalent among the whole race ; it is a
kind of ringworm, the natives call it £ucva.
Question 4. The colour of the hair, and whether fine or coarse,
straight or curled or woolly ?
Answer. The colour of the hair is dark brownish originally,
but they powder their hair with lime and red ochre, which
changes the colour to a light reddish brown. On the island of
San Christoval this custom is not in general use. The hair is
of tlu Solomon Islands. 93
soft and bushy, or curled in some instances, with a few ex-
ceptions of soft straight hair of a light brown colour.
Question 5. Is the head round or elongated in either direction ?
Is the face broad, oval, or of any other strange form ?
Answer. There is no peculiarity in the shape of the head. The
forehead is mostly low, in some instances high, and I find these
the most intelligent, often the most villainous. The nose is flat
and stubby in most natives, although I have seen some with a
straight nose. There are some very pleasant features both
amongst the males and females.
Question 6. Does infanticide occur, and for what special
reasons ?
Answer. On the island of Ugi and among the beach people
of San Christoval it is a common thing to kill the children at
their birth by digging a hole in the earth away from their
habitations : the mother lets the child drop into the hole and
covers it up immediately. They say that it is too much trouble
to rear a child : they would rather buy a grown up child from the
bush people for native money, who keep their children for the
sole object of selling them to the beach people. On the other
islands of the Solomon group infanticide does not occur, unless
in an extreme case, such as the child being a bastard. On the
island of Ugi the women often procure abortion. I have known
several cases of three to seven months' pregnancy, where abortion
was procured, bat could never find out exactly what they used to
procure the same. I am aware that there is a certain shrub
growing in the islands, the leaves whereof they use for this
purpose, by making a drink of them : likewise they wear tight
bandages round their waist. There are only a few women who
understand this, and they make rather a profitable trade by it.
Of all the natives I have had intercourse with, I find the Ugi
and San Christoval natives the most lazy and avaricious, like-
wise the most immoral. All young women, no matter whether
a chiefs daughter or a slave's, are prostitutes. In the western
islands of this group this is not the case, there being prostitutes
or rambus among them, but they are the slaves caught in
warfare, any prostitution among the natives of the place
being punished either by death or a heavy fine. On Ugi a
native prefers in marriage a woman that is getting old in the
trade.
Question 7. "What is the practice as to dressing and cradling
children ? Are there any reasons connected with it tending to
alter the shape of the head or feet or other parts ?
Answer. There is very little to be said on this subject. The
mother carries the child with her wherever she goes. The first
94 LIEUT. F. ELTON. — Notes on Natives
six months the child is not taken out of the house, neither will
the mother leave the house, the father doing all the household
duties, if the family is not rich enough to keep slaves. They do
not alter the shape of any part, except the nose and ears, which
they pierce and then put little blocks of wood in them. The
mother carries the child on the left hip in a sling thrown
across the right shoulder.
Question 8. Are the children easily reared ?
Answer. A native never strikes his own child and concedes to
all its wishes. As soon as the children are able to run about
they are left to themselves.
Question 9. At what, age does puberty take place ?
Ansiver. That is hard to say to a certainty. Natives do not
keep account of their age. I should say 15 years.
Question 10. Are more than one child at a birth frequent ?
Are there more boys than girls at birth ; and in the tribes are
there more men than women, or the reverse ?
Answer. I have seen twins, but I believe that it happens very
seldom. Natives seem astonished when I tell them of white
women having twins often. On some islands, especially on
Ugi and San Christoval there are more men than women.
Question 11. At about what age do the women stop bearing
children ? And for how long do they generally suckle them ?
Answer. I can hardly tell at what age, I should say at about
45 years. I have never seen a large family on San Christoval
and Ugi. The most I saw was five children and they were born
in the first 10 years of their marriage. The mother suckles the
child until it weans itself at the age of about two years.
Question 12. What are the ceremonies and practices connected
with marriage?
Answer. In different islands there are different customs. On
Ugi and San Christoval the practice is as follows : — If a man
wants a wife, he cooks a dish full of yams and cocoa-nuts and
carries it to the house of his bride elect, whence he returns
without uttering a word. The next morning he returns to take
the dish away. If the food has not been eaten, he is not
accepted, and he takes this as an insult ; if, on the other hand
the bowl is empty and a couple of fathoms of money left in-
stead of it, he is not accepted either, but the family wishes to
keep on friendly terms with the suitor. Finally, if the dish be
entirely empty he is accepted. The girl has very little to say in
regard to her marriage, it being all arranged by her parents and
friends. There is no ceremony attached to the marriage. The
bridegroom takes the girl either to his house or goes and stays
for a time with her parents, partly to show his ability to keep a
of the Solomon Islands. 95
wife, and partly to see what sort of housewife she will make.
If he is not satisfied with the girl, he is allowed to return her to
her parents, who have to pay the young man for keeping the
girl. If, on the other hand, he intends to make her his wife, he
pays to the girl's parents about 12 to 20 fathoms of Makua money
and makes a large feast, at which great quantities of pork,
opossum, fish, yams, taros, and cocoa-nuts, are consumed. The
parents of the bride have to give a feast in return. If the hus-
band at any time choose to send his wife back to her parents,
they would have to return to him the money paid for her.
Question 13. Is more than one wife the usual thing ?
Answer. On the islands east of Guadalcanar the natives
generally keep only one wife, although polygamy is in use.
Only a few chiefs are married to two wives. On the island of
Guadalcanar and on all the islands west of it, men marry as
many wives as they can keep. I know a chief in Port Fowler,
by name of Goray, who is married to 34 wives and has over
70 children by them. They all live in a village by themselves.
His eldest son is married to 10 wives and has got over 15
children.
Question 14. Do divorces take place ; and are they frequent ?
Answer. Sometimes, but not very often. When a man chooses
his wife he knows her well and has been living with her before
marriage.
Question 15. What is the usual food of the people; and what
are their modes of cooking ?
Answer. They live chiefly on yams, fish, and cocoa-nuts, and
prepare these in different ways, by making a sort of pudding of
yams and cocoa-nuts or of a small oily nut not unlike an
almond. They possess pigs, dogs, cats, fowls, all of which
animals they use as food, but they mostly feed on vegetables.
They have taros, both cultivated and wild. They eat the leaves
of different trees as salad or make soups of them. Their original
cooking utensils consist of deep wooden dishes of different
sizes, sometimes neatly carved and inlaid with pearl shell. They
cook their food, wrapped up in leaves, between hot stones. If
they make soup they put the ingredients into a dish and keep
putting hot stones into it, until the water boils. The bush-
people do so at the present time, but the beach people buy sauce-
pans and other cooking utensils to boil their food in.
Question 16. How many meals do they take in a day? Can
they go without food for any length of time ? And are they
able to work hard, or for any long time ?
Answer. In a well regulated household they take two meals,
96 LIEUT. F. ELTON. — Notes on Natives
at 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Natives can go without food for a
long time. If a relative dies, they taboo themselves from
eating everything that grows underneath the ground, also from
all saltwater fish ; then they live on cocoa-nuts alone, with a
few bananas occasionally. They are able to work hard for a
long time. The natives of the Solomon Islands are highly
prized in Fiji and Queensland, to which places they emigrate in
large numbers, for their willingness to work.
Question 17. What is the usual style of dress ; and what
made of '( Do they tattoo or otherwise alter their bodies for the
sake of ornament or distinction ?
Answer. The men all through the Solomon Islands cover their
private parts only with a narrow strip of calico, or with leaves
when calico is not to be obtained. The women dress differently
on different islands. On the islands east of Guadalcanar single
girls go entirely naked, but married women wear a little fringe
made of the bark of a tree, as a distinction of their marriage.
On Guadalcanar, Florida, and the islands west of them they
wear petticoats made of banana leaves. In places where white
men have not been or very seldom go to, the men will go naked
also. They do not tattoo- their bodies as a general rule.
Question 18. Are the people long or short lived ? State aiiy
well-known cases of extreme old age.
Answer. I should say that they are not long lived as a rule.
I know of only a few old people among the beach tribes of San
Christoval. The natives have no idea what their age is. The
oldest man I know, seems to be about 70 years of age.
Question 19. How do they generally treat the sick ; and is
there any superstition connected with the treatment ?
Answer. They use no medicine of any sort, and sick people
have to do the best they can for themselves. They believe that
the devil or Atvoa made them sick. Some people profess to
have intercourse with this spirit, and they are called for in case
of sickness. Lime plays a great part in regard to driving the
devil out of a sick person. The medicine man will take a
pinch of lime and murmur a few words over it, put it after that
into a small leaf and fasten it on some part of the patient. He
takes as payment for his services either some Makua money or
some tobacco. The natives on Ugi know the value of the
medicines of the whites, and often come to get some from me.
Still they must have the lime also, and generally they ascribe
their recovery to the lime and not to our medicines.
Question 20. Are the people troubled with internal worms ?
Answer. Children are, but not fully grown persons, so far as I
know.
of the Solomon Islands. 97
Question 21. How are the dead disposed of?
Answer. In several ways. No matter what person or rank, as
soon as any of the natives die, all the people of the village go
to the house of the deceased and lament and howl there for two
or three days : if a person of distinction, longer. After the
second day the corpse, if of a slave, is wrapt in cocoa-nut leaves
and taken in a canoe some distance off the beach, and there
thrown overboard. If a person of distinction, he is taken into
the bush, then laid on a platform and left until all the flesh has
rotted off the bones, which are afterwards carefully gathered,
put into baskets and hung up in their houses. If a chief dies,
they keep the corpse near, or sometimes in the village, and two
of his friends wash him every day until the bones are clean.
They are then put into a basket, or sometimes placed in
a coffin, made so as to resemble a shark, and put into the
tamboo house. This is the devil of the natives. They offer to
him the first fruits of the season, such as yams, taros, bread-
fruit, cocoa-nuts, &c. If they kill a pig or have a feast the
devil gets the first of everything that is cooked. They say they
go at night and have intercourse with the devil, and all such
nonsense.
Question 22. Is there any idea of a future state ; and of what
sort?
Answer. All they believe is that after death they are spirits,
resembling the image, and can do what they like with the
living persons.
Question 23. What is the usual kind of dwelling house ?
Answer. The houses on the eastern islands of this group are
about from 8 to 15 feet high ; in the western islands they build
them higher, up to about 40 feet. They all use the leaves of the
vegetable ivory palm as thatch, and light wood or bamboo for
sides. Some natives keep their houses tidy, but on the whole
they are squalid and dirty. In every village they have at least
one so-called tamboo house or tohe, generally the largest build-
ing in the settlement. This is only for the men, it being death
for a female to enter there. It is used as a public place and
belongs to the community. Any stranger coming to the village
goes to the tamboo house and remains there until the person he
is in quest of meets him there.
Question 24. Have they any monuments? What sort and
what for ?
Answer. They have no monuments of any sort.
Question 25. What are the domestic animals ? Where did
these animals first come from ; and are they altered by the
climate or food they live upon ?
VOL. XVII. H
98 LIEUT. ELTOX. — Notes on Natives of trie Solomon Islands.
Answer. They possess pigs, dogs, cats, and fowls. The
natives confess that the pigs were brought here by white men
a long time ago. They are of an inferior breed, with very long
heads. Dogs, I believe, are natives of the islands. They re-
semble a fox more than a dog. They do not bark but howl,
and live mostly on vegetable food. The natives are very kind
to them. Cats and fowls have not been long among the natives.
The predominating colour of the animals is a reddish brown.
Question 26. What is the kind of government ? Any odd
details about their religion, &c., &c., will be most interesting.
Answer. They have no established government. If a man is
married and got a little money and a few slaves, he calls him-
self a chief, but does not exercise any power over his slaves ;
they do pretty well as they like. They recognise one or two as
the head chiefs or mani pina in a village, but do not listen to
them unless in a fight, or in any of their tamboos. The white
trader's tobacco has more power than a chief's word. But should
a chief put a taboo on anything, say, against eating yams or
cocoa-nuts, they will observe it most strictly. If anybody dies,
his relations are tabooed from eating anything that grows
underneath the ground, likewise from all saltwater fish for the
space of about one year or less, according to the rank of the de-
ceased. They carve images and put them into their tamboo
houses or yam plantations, and believe them to have power
over all evil spirits.
Question 27. How do they note and divide their time ? How
do they carry on war ; and what are their usual weapons ?
Answer. They divide their time into days, months, and years.
The days they note by the sun, the months by the moon and
the year by the growth of a yam. Their warfare consists in
treachery and surprise. They never stand in open fair fight.
If they are not able to kill their enemy with one blow, they do
not stop to give him another, but take to their heels. Their
usual weapons are tomahawks, clubs, spears, and bows and
arrows. They possess many guns, but I have heard of very few
cases where men died by getting shot. Although the natives are
very fair marksmen when cool and collected, yet in a surprise
they fire off their guns without taking aim. Some time ago a
native had a shot at me not 10 paces off, with intent to kill, but
missed.
Concluding Remarks ly Lieutenant Elton.
You will observe that in Mr. Howard's answer to my eighth
question, he refers to the domestic briuging-up of the child and
List of Presents. 99
not to its progress in physical growth and strength, which was
the sense of my question.
In reply to my fifteenth question as to the usual food of the
people, he has confined himself strictly to naming the usual
daily victuals and has not spoken of the human flesh they
occasionally feast on ; but he verbally informed me that the
natives round him at Ugi now and then went over to the
neighbouring island of Guadalcanar, and bought human victims
for an approaching feast time ; these victims being mostly
women. These women were then taken away in canoes and
regularly fattened in their purchasers' villages till the festive
time- Then they were deliberately killed and eaten, just as
fattened pigs would be.
When they happened to be fighting with neighbouring
villages or tribes, they always feasted on any unlucky enemy
they captured or killed ; but these capturings and killings were
not on a large scale, as these natives are exceedingly cowardly
and timid fighters. Hence human flesh by purchase was more
to their liking and more common.
MAY IOTH, 1887.
FKANCIS GALTON, Esq., F.R.S., President, in the Chair.
The Minutes of the last meeting were read and signed.
The following presents were announced, and thanks voted to
the respective donors : —
FOE THE LIBRARY.
From H.E. the BRAZILIAN MINISTER. — Archives do Museu Nacional
do Rio de Janeiro. Vol. VI. 1885.
From ROBERT OUST, Esq. — The Origin of Primitive Money. By
Horatio Hale.
From the AUTHOR. — The Oceanic Languages Shemitic. By Rev.
D. Macdonald.
Canoes und Canoebau in den Marshall-Inselm. By Dr. 0.
Finsch.
Hausbau, Hauser, und Siedelungen an der Siidostkiiste von
Neil-Guinea. By Dr. 0. Finsch.
- L'lndice ilio-pelvico o un indice sessuale del bacino nelle razze
umane. By Prof. G. Sergi.
— Sul terzo condllo occipitale e sulle apofisi paroccipitali. By
Prof. G. Sergi.
H 2
100 V. HORSLEY. —Trephining in the
From the AUTHOR. — Prebasioccipitale o basiotico (Albrecht). By
Prof. G. Sergi.
Ricerche di Psicologia sperimentale. By Prof. G. Sergi.
— Interparietali e preinterparietali del cranio umano. By
Prof. G. Sergi.
Antropologia Fisica della Fuegia. By Prof. G. Sergi.
From the UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. — Mineral Resources
of the United States. Calendar Year 1885.
From the BERLIN GESELLSCHAFT FUR ANTHROPOLOGIE, ETHNOLOGIE,
UND URGESCHICHTE. — Zeitschrift fur Ethnologic. 1886, Heft
6; 1887, Heft 1.
From the ESSEX FIELD CLUB. — The Essex Naturalist. No. 4.
From the SCOTTISH GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY. — The Scottish Geo-
graphical Magazine. Vol. III. No. 5.
From the ARCH.EOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
— The Archaeological Journal. No. 173.
From the ASSOCIATION. — Journal of the East India Association.
Vol. XIX. No. 3.
From the SOCIETY. — Journal of the Society of Arts. Nos. 1797,
1798.
Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society. 1887, May.
Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. Nos. 272, 273.
Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 1886, December ;
1887, January.
Mittheilungen der Anthropologischen Gesellschaft in Wien.
Band XVI. Heft. 3, 4.
From the EDITOR. — Nature. Nos. 913, 914.
- The Photographic Times. Nos. 292, 293.
Journal of Hydrotherapeutics. No. 1.
L'Homme. 1887. No. 5.
Prof. FLOWER read a letter from Emin Pasha, dated Wadelai,
8th November, 1886.
Prof. VICTOR HORSLEY, F.R.S., delivered a discourse on
" Trephining in the Neolithic Period," illustrated by numerous
photographic transparencies projected on the screen by the
oxyhydrogen lantern.
TREPHINING in the NEOLITHIC PERIOD.
By VICTOR HORSLEY, B.S., F.K.S., &c.
(Abstract).
THE object the author had in view was to obtain the criticism of
the Anthropological Institute upon certain views which he had
formed from a surgical standpoint, of the operative procedure of
trephining as practised by the people of the polished stone
epoch, and the reasons which led to its performance.
Neolithic Period. 101
After discussing the evidence which has now accumulated
respecting the probable mode of operating, namely, whether it
was done by boring, scraping, or sawing, he shewed reason for
believing that in the majority of instances it was by means of
sawing, and that in some cases this might have been supple-
mented by scraping. The evidence upon which these opinions
were based was supplied by numerous photographs1 of speci-
mens in the Broca Museum and elsewhere.
The most usual seat of operation was next discussed, and in
illustration of this part of the subject photographs were shewn
of a skull upon which the author had marked in outlines, the
margins of all the trephine openings of which he had been able
to obtain specimens.
By means of this composite arrangement it was demonstrated
beyond question, that in almost all the known instances of this
practice the opening in the skull was made over that portion of
the surface of the brain which is known to be more especially
the seat of representation of movement. This region of the
brain, moreover, is the seat of origin of that special form of con-
vulsions which is known as Jacksoniaii epilepsy, and which so
frequently follows injuries to the skull and brain. The ana-
tomical grounds, therefore, for accepting the view that the opera-
tion was performed to relieve urgent symptoms of the kind
mentioned would appear to be very strong.
But further facts of interest exist in this connection. This
special form of epilepsy most usually commences with a peculiar
sensation in one definite part of the body, whence it travels up
the limb towards the head, this usually constituting the aura or
warning of the onset of the fit. This factor is of special import-
ance since it commonly happens that at the moment when the
sensation appears to reach the head consciousness is lost. If,
moreover, the mischief is occasioned by a depressed . fracture
there will be considerable tenderness at the injured place, and
this becomes exaggerated at the period of convulsions. Putting
these facts together with minor details of such cases too nume-
rous to be mentioned here, the following mode in which the
practice may have originated among so savage a people seems to
be possible.
The tender cicatrix may have first been excised as the source
of pain.
This probably would have produced a temporary benefit,
sufficient to encourage the patient to undergo, in case of relapse,
a further operation for the removal of bone.
1 Prof. Horsley was very greatly indebted to the kindness of Prof. Duval and
Prof. Topinard, who permitted him to take numerous photographs of the unique
specimens under their care.
102 Discussion.
This would in most cases be followed by relief, not merely of
the pain but of the fits also.
Consequently the operation would gain a certain reputa-
tion for the cure of convulsions, generally, and as such might
have been frequently practised among savages to whom pain is
of slight consequence.
The author then alluded to the various theories which have
been promulgated to explain this interesting problem, and
shewed reasons for not accepting them.
DISCUSSION.
Sir JAMES PAGET, having been called upon by the President to
open the discussion, said that he had studied the subject too little
to speak on many of the points referred to by Mr. Horsley, but
thought that he had shown the great probability that the opening
of the skull was, in different instances, practised in all the three
methods described by him. The sloping bevelled edges of some of
the openings seemed sufficient evidence of the chiselling ; the
minute holes arranged in forms approaching circles indicated the
drilling ; the deep-cut narrow lines the sawing ; and so far as he
knew or had seen in the many dissected skulls in the Museum of
the College of Surgeons and in other museums, there was none
of them that made it probable that the charges illustrated by Mr.
Horsley were results of disease. Openings in the skull, due to the
growth of tumours within it, .were not very rare, but in these the
opening in the outer table was not larger, but often was smaller,
than that in the inner, and there was no bevelling from the outer
table to the margin of the inner. Necrosis of the skull due to
disease might, when healed, nearly imitate some of the changes
referred to the trephining ; but such necrosis was rarely on only
one spot on the skull. The specimens appeared to be excellent
examples of recovery from operations which were, probably, far
less dangerous to the rough uncivilised people on whom they were
practised than they are now to the more cultivated races, even
though these may have all the advantages of the skill and know-
ledge which are employed in modern surgery.
Sir WALTER BULLER, K.C.M.Gr., on being appealed to by the
President, as to whether any form of epilepsy was common among
the Maoris of New Zealand, said that such cases, if they did exist
must be very rare indeed, for he could not remember having met
with a single instance. He added that he had listened with much
interest to Professor Horsley's excellent lecture, and that while
looking at the limelight illustrations he was forcibly reminded of a
Maori skull which had come under his own notice. The Maori to
whom this skull belonged had evidently sustained a severe injury
in the head, probably by a blow from a tewlia, tewJia, or wooden
patu, which had completely laid open his skull to the extent of
several inches. It was evident that this had happened during life,
Discussion. 103
and that the subject had survived the injury, because the sides of
the long opening had become rounded over in the process of
healing, as so well explained and illustrated by Professor
Horsley. He knew nothing of the man's history, but it was clear
from the condition of the bone, that he had long survived this
terrible wound, and it was likely enough that he had afterwards
died in the odour of sanctity. At any rate this very interesting
skull had been preserved, and was, he believed, now in one of the
Colonial museums.
Dr. PRIESTLEY said he felt in some embarrassment in being
called upon to speak, as the subject of the paper was entirely new
to him.
Mr. Horsley's communication was extremely interesting, and
from the point of view suggested by the President, would, of
course, have had additional interest if any mention had been made
of the practice of trephining infants as well as adults. He had
some recollection of having heard or read of the practice of
trephining young children in prehistoric times, probably for con-
vulsions and other like ailments, but the operation was then most
likely undertaken, not for purely surgical reasons, but in the
superstitious belief that the demon which caused the malady would
thus be liberated.
It was well known that convulsions in children were relatively
more frequent than in adults, and consequently if in former times
it were the practice to trephine the skull for fits or other
cerebral ailments in grown-up people, it might be inferred that
the proceeding would more frequently be carried out in younger
people.
As to the influence of the operation on infantile mortality, to
which the President had alluded, he feared he could say nothing,
as he knew of no records on the subject.
Dr. RTLE remarked that it was interesting to compare with the
results of anthropological investigation the writings of the early
medical authors. Trephining is several times mentioned in the
works of Hippocrates. In some of his writings, about the
genuineness of which there is no question, the date of which
would therefore be about 400 B.C., he describes cases of head
injuries which he had treated by trephining, and it may be noticed
that although he had observed the association of convulsive move-
ments on one side of the body with injuries to the opposite side of
the head, he does not endeavour to localise by means of these
movements the site of the injury, or the spot at which the trephine
should be applied.
A still more interesting notice of trephining is found in the
writings of Aretseus, the Cappodocian, who probably flourished
about the second century of our era. He actually advises the use
of the trephine for the treatment of epilepsy.
He does not apparently make the distinction which we now
104 Discussion.
draw between traumatic and idiopathic epilepsy, but simply
recommends trephining for severe cases.
His account of cranial operations is particularly noteworthy
in connection with the description of the operations of the
neolithic people which Mr. Horsley had given. For cases of
simple pain in the head localised scraping of the bone down to the
diploe was practised, but when epilepsy existed the trephine was
employed. And it was employed in a peculiar manner. The
operator was not to go deeper than the diploe, and was then to
bring about the separation of the inner layer of the bone by the
use of ointments and poultices. If we may allow ourselves to
speculate upon the reasons which may have led to this practice,
we may suppose that the two dangers which modern surgeons are
familiar with in these operations, viz., direct injury of the brain or
membranes by the trephine going too deeply, and haemorrhage
from blood vessels lying on the inner surface of the skull, were
recognised by these early operators, and may have given rise to the
method of operating which Aretaeus describes. To remove this
portion of the inner table of the skull after trephining by the
slow process of necrosis and exfoliation of bone must have
occupied a very considerable length of time. It would be interest-
ing to know if there are any signs of this prolonged mode of
operating in the skulls of the neolithic age.
Miss BUCKLA.ND said that having had the advantage of hearing
Dr. Broca's description of the trephined skulls in his museum, she
wished to point out that Mr. Horsley differed in several particulars
from that distinguished anthropologist. Dr. Broca had dismissed
the idea that these neolithic trephinings had been resorted to for
the relief of traumatic epilepsy, because he found no sign of
depressed fracture either in the region of the operation, or in any
other part of the skull, whilst almost invariably there were signs
of growth, proving that the operation had been performed in early
life, the parietal bones rather than the vertex being the favourite
part for the operation. As regards the mode of operation, Dr.
Broca had demonstrated that precisely similar openings could be
made by scraping with a flint implement or piece of glass, and as
this is the method still in use in the South Sea Islands, Miss Buck-
land believed that Dr. Broca's idea that the neolithic trephinings
were thus performed was more likely to be correct, than that these
oval openings could have been made by drilling or sawing, although
both the latter modes are in use among the Kabyles, who possess
metal instruments ; but the fact that where the saw is employed, a
square is marked out as in Peru, would prove the practice to differ
from that in use in France in neolithic times, no square lines being
observable, so far as she knew, on the French trephined skulls.
That these openings were made to facilitate the exit of evil spirits
who had caused the epilepsy or infantile convulsions, seems pro-
bable from the fact that in all ages such seizures were regarded as
the work of evil spirits, whilst the use of cranial amulets as
Discussion. 105
charms against such diseases, was not confined to neolithic times,
but exists even at the present day, as witnessed by an article in the
"English Illustrated Magazine," where it is related that a cranial
amulet in Perugia is greatly venerated, as having belonged to a
holy man who had been famed for the cure of epilepsy, and it is
suggested that pieces had been cut from many skulls in the ceme-
tery in that city for similar uses. Among the Kabyles the opera-
tion seems to be regarded as a religious rite, and there would
appear to be so little danger apprehended from it that a case is
recorded in which a man was trephined five times in as many
years and yet survived.
«/ «/
Prof. E. TYRRELL LEITH remarked that he thought greater atten-
tion should have been directed to primitive psychology in seeking
an explanation of the custom in question. He referred more
especially to the doctrine of spirit possession, which had not, un-
fortunately, been hitherto treated as adequately as its great import-
ance deserved. He ventured to suggest that considerable light
would be thrown on the custom by comparing it with another,
which had survived in India down to modern times. When a
Sanyasi, or Brahman ascetic, felt himself at the point of death, he
caused himself to be seated in an open grave, which was filled in
with salt. At a given signal his skull was broken with a cocoa-
nut or stone by a chosen disciple, and earth was then hastily
heaped upon him. That rite, he believed, must have originated in
the idea that as speedy an exit as possible ought to be provided
for his soul, which, according to a dogma of Hindu philosophy,
resided in the top of the head. In the stage of human progress
known as Shamanism, all disease was attributed to demoniacal
possession, and the Shaman, or medicine-man, was accordingly
called in to effect a cure by expelling the evil spirit with the aid
of incantations. No cases afforded the savage mind more striking
proof of demoniacal influence or the efficacy of magical cure than
epilepsy. It seemed, therefore, highly probable that the process
of trephining had been employed by primitive man in order to
expel the demon who possessed the patient, especially in cases
of epilepsy. Such an explanation was not necessarily opposed to
the theory propounded by Prof. Horsley regarding the empirical
discovery of a cure for traumatic epilepsy by removing such portions
of bone as pressed upon the brain in fracture of the skull. He
submitted, however, that a higher degree of probability existed in
favour of his own hypothesis, as it was more in accordance with
the mental process observable in savages at the present day. It
had been stated in the paper that in two of the specimens examined
it was doubtful whether trephining had been performed during
life. Even supposing it had not, that fact was quite compatible
with his hypothesis, for it was a common belief among the lower
races that the soul remained in the body for some time after death.
As regarded the suggestion that the operation might have been
employed for the purposes of embalming, he would merely remark
106 Discussion.
that he did not remember to have met with any description of its
use in ancient Egypt. He had always understood that, in the
case of Egyptian mummies, the brain was extracted by means of
hooked instruments through the nostrils.
The PRESIDENT said that although the author of the paper and
M. Broca had both ignored the possibility of an instrument like
the modern trephine having ever been used to cut circular discs out
of the skull, it might be well to bear in mind that such instruments
were largely used by the ancient Egyptian stone masons for hollow-
ing their sarcophagi. These were proved by Mr. Flinders Petrie to
have been bronze tubes, set with teeth of very hard stones or
jewels ; the fact that they were bronze being evidenced by the
marks they had left, and the hardness of the jewelled teeth by the
depth of the successive cuts in the stone cores that were still to be
seen in some of their unfinished, works. In fact, the Egyptians
were masters of the art of trephining. It would be interesting to
know whether, as he believed he had somewhere read, trephining
was one of their numerous surgical operations, and, if so, whether
there was any evidence of the holes having had vertical edges. Of
course, a trephine on the same principle, would, easily be made by
rude people with tubes of other material than bronze, and with
flint teeth.
As regards the motives for trephining, he felt some difficulty in
accepting the very ingenious hypothesis of the author, partly
because it implied more intelligence than savages usually shewed.
In their surgery and medicine they were apt to proceed in a very
off hand, ruthless, and unintelligent manner, following their fancies
and superstition rather than experience. Another difficulty that
he felt was, that he had no recollection of travellers speaking of
traumatic epilepsy among savages. Sir Walter Buller had told
them that he had never heard of it in New Zealand, and he him-
self had never heard of it in South Africa, though heavy blows,
not unfrequently murderous ones, and very often half murderous,
were inflicted by their so-called " knob-kerries." Perhaps it was
owing to that hardness of constitution, on which Sir James Paget
had made such interesting remarks, that savages were more
exempt from the risk of traumatic epilepsy than ourselves. It
would be very important to know precisely what are the motives
that prompt trephining the skull among those rude races where
the practice still exists.
Prof. HORSLEY, in reply, desired to thank the Institute for the
very kind manner in which it had received and discussed his views.
It was impossible to accept Miss Bnckland's rendering of Prof.
Broca's view, for square lines and distinct saw cuts are observable
on the French trephined skulls.
Prof. Leith's view that possibly it was performed in cases of
ascetics or medicine men at the time of death is one well meriting
further investigation.
List of Presents. 107
MAY 24TH, 1887.
FRANCIS GALTON, Esq., F.B.S., President, in the CJiair.
The Minutes of the last meeting were read and signed.
The following presents were announced, and thanks voted to
the respective donors : —
FOR THE LIBRARY.
From GEORGE W. BLOXAM, Esq., M.A. — Proceedings of the
Athenasum Society. No. 4.
From the AUTHOR. — Les Peuplades de Madagascar. By M. Max
Leclerc.
Une Nouvelle Force ? Premiere et deuxieme communica-
tions. By J. Thore.
From the SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES. — Archseologia. Vol. L. Part I.
From the KONGL. VHTERHETS HISTORIE OCH ANTIQVITETS
AKADEMIEN. — Antiqvarisk Tidskrift for Sverige. Del. ix, Nr.
1, 2 ; Del. x, NT. 1.
From the FREE LIBRARY COMMITTEE OF THE BOROUGH OF GREAT
YARMOUTH. — First Annual Report. 1886-87.
From the DEUTSCHE GESELLSCHAFT FUR ANTHROPOLOGIE, ETHNOLOGIE,
AND URGESCHICHTE. — Correspondenz-Blatt. 1887. No. 4.
From the SOCIETA ITALIAN A DI ANTROPOLOGIA, ETNOLOGIA, E Psico-
LOGIA COMPARATA. — Archivio per 1'Antropologia e la Etnologia.
Vol. xvi, Fas. 3.
From the INSTITUTION — Journal of the Royal United Service In-
stitution. No. 138.
From the SOCIETY. — Journal of the Society of Arts. Nos. 1799,
1800.
Proceedings of the Royal Society. No. 253.
• Journal of the China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.
Vol. xxi. Nos. 3, 4.
Mittheilungen der Anthropologischen Gesellschaft in Wien.
Band xvii, Heft 1.
Schriften der Physikalisch-b'konomischen Gesellschaft zu
Konigsberg i. Pr. 1886.
From the EDITOR.— Nature. Nos. 915, 916.
Photographic Times. Nos. 294, 295.
L'Homme. 1887. No. 6.
Revue d'Anthropologie. 1887. No. 3.
Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana. 1887. No. 3.
The following Paper was read by the Author : —
108 G. HAKLEY. — Recuperative Bodily Power oj Man
COMPARISON between the RECUPERATIVE BODILY POWER of MAN
in a RUDE and in a HIGHLY CIVILISED STATE ; ILLUSTRATIVE
of the PROBABLE RECUPERATIVE CAPACITY of MEN of the
STONE-AGE in EUROPE.
By Dr. GEORGE HARLEY, F.R.S., Ex-Professor in University
College, London.
THE collating of the data constituting this communication —
illustrative of the relative recuperative bodily capacity of men
in different positions of life — suggested itself to my mind by
Professor Horsley having demonstrated1 in his discourse, de-
livered at the last meeting of the Anthropological Institute,
that rough, unlearned men of the European stone-age, had
successfully performed operations on the skulls of their
associates, which if done nowadays in the same way, and by
the same means, upon highly civilised men would inevitably
kill them.
The success of the neolithic man in removing large portions
of the bony covering of so delicately constituted an organ as
the human brain by scraping, chiselling, or sawing it away with
rude stone implements, appears all the more extraordinary when
we reflect that the generally entertained idea is that the modern
inhabitant of Europe vastly excels his predecessor of the neolithic
period, both in bodily physique and mental power, surpassing
him alike in stature and in strength, as well as in longevity.
Consequently one would expect, other things being equal, that
men of the present period would be able to endure better and
recover quicker from bodily injuries, whether accidental or in-
tentional, than their less powerfully built neolithic predecessors.
As the result of Professor Horsley's researches, however,
apparently prove that the reverse is in reality the case, it be-
comes an interesting point for us to determine whether or no,
in spite of the men of the stone-age in Europe being both
smaller and muscularly weaker than the present inhabitants of
the same localities, they were not actually possessed, for some
reason or another, of a much greater bodily recuperative
capacity than their more highly developed civilised successors.
On personally communicating to the President my opinions
on the matter, he suggested that it might be advisable for me to
embody them in a paper, and communicate it to the Anthro-
pological Institute. I have followed his advice, and am now
doing so, in the hope that after my ideas on the subject have
1 " On the Operation of Trephining during the Neolithic period in Europe ;
and on the probable method and object of its performance." See Ante, p. 100.
in a Rude and in a Highly Civilised State. 109
been heard, some of the gentlemen present, whose opinions are
of weight in all questions of this kind, may, while commenting
on the communication, throw out additional fresh ideas which
will materially aid us in arriving at least at some plausible,
should we fail to find a perfectly satisfactory, solution to the
above-named apparently human constitutional enigma.
This communication, however, has not solely that object in
view, but also the equally important one of directing attention
to the vital degeneracy of the present race of Europeans, as
regards their bodily recuperative capacity.
In order to save time, and to make my views perfectly plain,
I shall at once present them in the form of a proposition, and
then proceed to adduce, as succinctly as I can, the facts that
appear to me to form a sufficiently substantial basis to warrant
my entertaining them.
My proposition is simply, that I believe, that in spite of men
having increased in weight, stature, and strength, as well as
their years of life having been augumented by their evolution
from a state of barbarism into one of bien seance and refinement,
their bodily recuperative powers have materially diminished
instead of having increased under the otherwise improving in-
fluences of civilising agents.
Indeed, as far as I have been able to discover, all the facts one
is able to collect appear distinctly to prove that every appliance
adding to man's bodily comfort, every food pampering his
palate and exciting his appetite, as well as all contrivances
either stimulating or developing his mental faculties and powers
of perception, while adding, no doubt, to his personal enjoy-
ments, have a direct deteriorating influence on his animal
vitality, rendering him less able to resist the lethal effects of
bodily injuries, or to recover from them either as quickly or
as well as individuals of the same race and temperament not
having similar corporeal and mental advantages.
Before proceeding to adduce data in support of this opinion
it may be advisible for me to say that I imagine our surprise at
the superior recuperative powers of the men inhabiting Europe
during the stone-age, in a great measure arises from our some-
what erroneously confounding together, and regarding as synony-
mous, two entirely distinct and mutually independent physio-
logical factors, namely, muscular strength and bodily recupera-
tive power; the fact being that high muscular development
may be associated with but moderate recuperative bodily power,
and an extremely high recuperative bodily power with a rela-
tively-speaking moderate physical strength. To take extreme
cases by way of illustration, I may refer to what is observed in
the crustacean and saurian species ; as both of them demonstrate
110 G. HARLEY. — Recuperative Bodily Power of Man
the fact that comparatively speaking feeble animals, low in the
scale of development, possess a remarkably high recuperative
bodily power. A crab, for example, can regenerate a lost toe,
and a lizard restore an amputated tail.
With these preliminary observations I now proceed to adduce
proof that the refining influences of civilisation deteriorate
human recuperative bodily power ; and in order to show this
clearly I shall first call attention to the relative recuperative
powers of man living in a wild and in a highly civilised con-
dition. As the cases that have already been published illustrating
this point are most probably known to you all, I shall refrain from
citing any of them, and limit my illustrations to such as I have
been able to collect myself. Moreover, as time is of moment
I shall only give two examples of each kind, selecting those
that I deem the most conclusive ; and in order that they may
be all the more telling 1 shall choose them from two distinctly
different races of savage men, who, from living far apart, in
different hemispheres of the globe, and under entirely different
climatic influences, may be supposed to possess but slight, if
any, constitutional similarity. The one race, therefore, will be
that of the South African CafFre; the other that of the North
American Indian.
First then as regards the recuperative bodily power of the
male South African CatTre living in a rude state. The case
I select is one furnished to me by Colonel Alexander Moncrieff
of an injury which, before the days of antiseptic surgery, was
regarded as one of the most formidable and dangerous to life to
which any human being could be subjected. It is as follows : —
A Caffre of about thirty years of age was so badly gored in
the abdomen by a bullock that his bowels fell out. One of
his companions went to his assistance ; gathered up the bowels ;
washed and freed them from the dirt which had become attached
to them while they were trailing on the ground ; replaced them
in the abdomen, and closed up the wound as best he could.
And what was the result ? Simply that the wound healed by
" the first intention," and the injured man was well and again
following his usual avocations in a few days.
Now for the case of a North American Indian. While I was
passing from the rugged volcanic geyser district of Montana
into the fertile plains of the Columbia Elver in Oregon, in 1.884,
the conductor of our train pointed out a one legged Indian,
standing at the depot, whom I mistook for a woman, from his
being like the squaws, as devoid of hair on his face as they are
of projecting bosoms, and not alone being dressed in a similar
costume, but wearing his head-hair in the same long and lank
fashion as the women do. This man, the conductor said, had
in a Rude and in a Highly Civilised State. Ill
hacked off the lower part of his own leg with a tomahawk, in
order to extricate himself from a crane, and afterwards crawled
more than a mile to his wigwam before he could get assistance.
Yet in spite of all this, he was able to hobble about, minus his
leg, within a fortnight.
The two next illustrative examples of recuperative bodily
power will be that of savage women, and for this 1 purposely select
them in the form of recoveries from childbirth. Childbirth
being an identical physical process in all members of the human
species, the comparative effects of it in a savage and in a civilised
state admits of easy and definite comparison.
It may, I think, be pretty safely said that it takes an average
healthy woman, not being a primipara, in the middle ranks of
European life, from four to fourteen days to recover from the
immediate effects of a natural accouchement. Here then are
two examples of the amount of time rude savage women require
to recruit from the same undertaking.
The following case was furnished to me by John Mintern, an
intelligent man, who acted as my class servant during the time
I filled the Chair of Medical Jurisprudence at University
College, London. It fell under his notice while he was travel-
ling in Africa along with the late Sir Andrew Smith, as his
personal attendant. Mintern said that one morning while they
were sitting at breakfast a young Caffre woman, who formed one
of their party, rose up and left them, and soon after they had
finished the meal, and were preparing to start on the track,
returned to camp with a face beaming with smiles, and a new
born baby in her arms. I asked Mintern how long he thought she
had been absent, and he replied that, although he could not say
positively, still judging from the time they usually took to their
meals, he did not think she could have been away altogether
more than half-an-hour. Yet during that time she had not only
delivered herself but attended to her baby. The next case is
one of a North American Indian, kindly furnished to me by
Mr. Charles Roberts. I give it in his own words :
" When crossing the Rocky Mountains, in Canada, in 1873,
the squaw of our Shuswap Indian guide, who usually marched
at the head of our party, dropped behind, and thinking she was
unable to keep up with us, as she was heavily laden, with her
husband's gun in addition to camping necessaries, a halt was
ordered and we began pitching our tent. Before, however, we
had time to accomplish this the squaw rejoined us with a newly
born infant added to her luggage, and apparently in a perfectly
fit state to travel. She had certainly not been absent from the
party for more than an hour, during which time she had been
confined without any assistance whatever, with not even so
112 G. HARLEY. — Recuperative Bodily Power of Man
much as the companionship of her lazy husband. On our pro-
ceeding on our journey on the following morning the woman
took up her usual place as leader of the party, carrying her
ordinary load in addition to her newly begotten child, and
marched along without showing signs of either weakness or
fatigue."
I shall now endeavour to show that this apparent super-
recuperative animal power, possessed by savage women, has
most probably nothing whatever to do with any innate constitu-
tional peculiarity, but arises solely from the fact that the
savage, owing to her mode of life, retains the natural aboriginal
bodily recuperative capacity of the human species, which highly
civilised woman has lost, by reason of her refined mode of living.
This doctrine appears to be demonstrable by the fact that
women of the same race, living in the same locality, manifest
entirely different degrees of recuperative power after child-
bearing, according to their habits and positions in life.
One of the best proofs of this, which it is in my power to cite,
came under my own observation while I was spending my
autumn holidays at Meopham, in Kent, during 1870.
While taking a walk one day, at the commencement of the
hop harvest, I was accosted by a female tramp, of about forty
years of age, carrying a newly born infant, rolled up in a rag,
of which, she informed me, she had a few minutes before de-
livered herself, on the other side of the hedge. She asked me to
direct her to the nearest workhouse. Seeing that the baby had
not a particle of clothing upon it, and that the nearest work-
house was at least seven miles away, I directed her to a farm-
house not more than a quarter of a mile distant, to which she
immediately repaired. On the following morning I called at the
farm, with the view of assisting the woman, and on iny arrival
was told by the farmer that she had started early in the morning,
to walk to Gravesend, which being little more than six miles off,
he assured me, she would easily reach within a couple of hours,
adding, that she had promised to return to his hop picking in a
day or two, speaking as if he was quite accustomed to that sort
of thing, and had not the slightest doubt that the woman would
be both able and willing to fulfil her promise.
The maternity feat of this tramp is yet eclipsed by that of a
Scotch woman living at Campsie, near Glasgow. It was related
to me by Mr. Mortimer Evans, in the following words :
" In 1879, a woman, aged 28, while engaged in washing, out-
side her cottage door, was seized with labour pains. She went
into the house, delivered herself of a living child, and imme-
diately afterwards returned to the tub, and finished her
washing."
in a Rude and in a Highly Civilised State. 113
What gently reared Kentish or Lanarkshire lady would be
found capable of accomplishing feats like these ? Not one, I
think, and yet they are of the same flesh and blood as their
less pecuniarly favoured sisters, whose recuperative bodily
powers, in my opinion, they have good reason to envy.
In further proof that the refining influences of civilisation
diminish animal vitality, notwithstanding that they improve
both physique and longevity, I shall give examples of the de-
generacy of bodily recuperative power in members of what in
ordinary language are denominated lower animals. Not, how-
ever, from the lowest, but from the highest groups of the brute
creation, and from those, too, with which we are most familiar
in a state of domestication; namely, the sheep, the ox, the
horse, and the dog.
First, as regards the detrimental effects to maternity of fine
breeding upon sheep.
Mr. Alfred Morrison tells me that such is the bodily re-
cuperative degeneracy prodiiced in pedigree sheep by high
breeding, that his celebrated flock of Southdowns cannot be left
to lamb by themselves. Having not only to be carefully kept
in a covered fold during the lambing season, but in many, nay,
even in most instances, the ewes have to be artificially assisted
by the shepherds while in the act of dropping their lambs.
While as regards pedigree oxen, Mr. Morrison further in-
forms me, that in many cases high bred shorthorns have their
animal powers so deteriorated, through the influence of fine
rearing, that most of the cows among them fail to yield sufficient
milk for the wants of their offspring.
Next with reference to horses. It is well known to veterinary
surgeons that a sturdy mountain pony will not only tolerate,
but rapidly recover from an operation which would produce a
great shock to the system, and might probably even prove fatal
if performed on a high class thoroughbred race horse.
Lastly, my own experience with dogs has taught me that the
delicately reared Italian greyhound will succumb to an opera-
tion which a roughly brought up mongrel cur may feel so little
the effects of, that immediately after it, he will partake of food,
and then quietly coil himself up and go to sleep in front of the
fire, as complacently as if nothing had been done to him.
I might go on multiplying corroborative examples, did I not
imagine that those already cited are both numerous enough and
conclusive enough to form a substantial basis to the somewhat
paradoxical-like sounding proposition I set out with, namely,
that in spite of civilising influences being potent agents in
improving man's physical as well as mental powers, increasing
alike his stature and his strength, as well as extending his
VOL. XVII. I
114 Discussion.
length of days — they are, like the rose, associated with a prickly
thorn, inasmuch as pari passit with the ameloriation of his
mental and physical condition, they materially diminish, instead
of augment, his bodily recuperative powers.
DISCUSSION.
The PRESIDENT mentioned some facts published in his own book
of travels, showing the extraordinary power of South African
natives to endure severe injury. He mentioned the great difference
well known to sportsmen, between the powers of various species of
animals to survive wounds; thus, a heron would collapse on
receiving a few pellets of shot fired from a gun at a long range,
but a hawk was killed with difficulty. It would be a matter of
interest to learn if there were any connection between recuperative
power in respect to wounds, and general longevity. The author's
remark that animals of a high " breed " had small recuperative
power, seemed to require a little further analysis owing to the
double sense in which the word " breed " was commonly used.
That in which it was employed by the author seemed chiefly to
regard their more delicate nurture. But. etymologically it was more
properly applied to descent, and here the loss of recuperative power
was in a general way intelligible, because any variety of animal
that had been long bred from selected specimens with a view
to develop some particular quality, might be expected to be rather
deficient in others, and, therefore, to have on the whole a weaker
constitution than that of the parent stock.
The AUTHOR, in reply to the questions put to him by the President,
remarked that the different bodily recuperative powers possessed by
such birds as the heron and the hawk, were, he thought, readily
accounted for by the fact of different species of animals possessing
marked differences of constitutional vitality. It was not so easy,
however, either to give a reason for the relative differences in the
bodily recuperative powers of different members of the same
species or of the relative different recuperative bodily capacity of
the same individual under different circumstances. Some of the
channels by which civilising influences act on the animal constitu-
tion are tolerably apparent, while others are exceedingly obscure.
To him it appeared that the superior recuperative bodily powers of
savages, and of men, not savages, living in any rude state, in com-
parison to highly civilised men, were not due to any gain in the ca.se
of the former, but to an actual loss of the aboriginal recuperative
power of the human species in the latter. Man, he thought, was
naturally born to endure hardships, and it was only on account of
the cultivation of an artificial refined state of existence that he was
led to regard many natural conditions of existence as hardships at
all. For instance, while crossing the Rocky Mountains, in Idaho, in
1884, he and his party came, one morning, upon four " Flathead "
Indians sleeping on the hard rough stones by the margin of a
Discussion* 115-
river. It having been a cold frosty night, they had Iain down side
by side and placed their blankets one on the top of the other over
them for better protection from the cold, and nothing but their
four black heads projected beyond the covering. To all appear-
ances these men were sleeping as comfortably on the rough stones
as we would do in a feather bed. Probably, indeed, if accidentally
transferred to a feather bed these Indians would have felt less com-
fortable. For, by a wise dispensation of Providence, comforts
which one has never enjoyed one never feels the disadvantage of
being without. What is even more fortunate, is that such is the
peculiar constitution of man that he can adapt himself, and get
accustomed to almost any form of hardship. Thus, to his per-
sonal knowledge, the late Mr. Charles Waterton, the South
American traveller, of "the Wanderings" reputation, habituated
himself to sleep for 25 years of his life on the hard, bare boards
of the floor, with a block of wood for a pillow, and a cocoanut mat
for a coverlet. This is surely a more astounding feat than that of
the American savages, who never knew anything better, sleeping
on hard stone boulders ; seeing that it was not until after Mr.
Waterton had reached manhood's estate, and after he had been
accustomed to all the luxuries of an English country gentleman's
life that he voluntarily adopted the above mentioned rude mode of
taking his nightly rest.
Hardships, he believes, have the effect of retaining to savages,
as well as civilised men living in a rude state, by strengthening
the constitution, the aboriginal recuperative bodily capacity of the
human race ; while, on the other hand, warm clothing and com-
fortable housing, rich feeding and late hours, heated rooms and
polluted atmospheres, more especially when associated with little
muscular out-door exercise, have the direct effect of enervating the
human frame and reducing its bodily recuperative capacity to far
below the normal standard.
The agent which most of all lowers human bodily recuperative
capacity is, in Dr. George Harley's opinion, alcohol. Medical men
have been long cognisant of the fact that men who are in the
habit of imbibing alcoholic stimulants, either in the form of wine,
beer, or spirits, even though not drunkards, are much less able to
withstand the lethal effects of bodily injuries than those who
never drink them ; while the recuperative powers of those who
indulge in stimulants in excess are well-known to be reduced
to a minimum. It is a well recognised fact for example, that no
patient that enters the surgical wards of a hospital with a severe
injury has less chance of recovery than the big, powerfully built,
muscularly strong brewer's dray-man. Not only does he recover
from wounds badly, but he attracts erysipelas readily, and spreads
infection rapidly.-
The effects of living in impure air is again well exemplified in
the case of the young Resident Medical Officers in hospitals, one
and all of whom, more especially it" their animal vitality is still
further lowered by over study, have their recuperative bodily
I 2
116 Discussion.
capacity sometimes deteriorated to such a degree, that if they get
a flesh wound, it is almost certain to become a suppurating sore,
and so bad an one too, that notwithstanding the application of ull the
most powerful therapeutic agents in the pharmacopoeia, it will some-
times resist healing so long as he lives under the hospital roof ;
whereas it heals rapidly, without assistance from either balm or
lotion, so soon as he transports himself into the pure, strong, fresh
air, either of the seaside or mountain top.
In this we see that a mere change in physical conditions creates
a change in bodily recuperative capacity. But the most remarkable
fact of all is, that highly civilised man has it in his own power,
not only to bring his recuperative bodily capacity up to but even
far beyond that of the standard of either the savage, or of the
civilised typical man living in a rude state. This he rendered
apparent by calling attention to the marvellously high bodily
recuperative capacity encountered in cases of civilised athletes
after" a course of training ;" the salutory regimen of the training
process having the effect of bringing them up to the highest state
of physical perfection a human being can attain to.
This can be most readily illustrated by referring to the artificial
changes brought about in the human constitution, as witnessed
in the case of prize fighters. And it will be best exemplified
by a brief narrative of what Dr. Collins told him regarding
what he observed in the case of the American pugilist, Heenan,
who fought with the British " champion of the ring," Tom
Sayers. The fight, as some may have heard, was a desperate
one, and in the evening after it, on Dr. Collins visiting Heenan, he
found him so disfigured about the face as to be scarcely recog-
nisable as a human being. His eyes were totally invisible, his
brow, cheeks, and lips swollen, bloated, and black. Not a vestige
of a human feature remained. Yet, what happened ? So high
had the vital recuperative capacity of this man been raised by
diet and exercise, that within four days all the swelling had com-
pletely subsided. And ere other four days had passed away the
whole of the effused blood had been absorbed. Every trace of the
ecchymosis had vanished, and the man's features were com-
pletely restored. It is impossible for any one, possessed with
medical knowledge, for a moment to doubt that these startling
results could have been due to anything else than a super-recupera-
tive bodily vitality engendered by the hardening of the general
system by training.
Having said this much it will not do to leave the subject
without adding a short addendum on the probable causes of the
loss of recuperative healing power on child-bearing women living
in a highly civilised state.
All know that exercise increases the size of human muscles, and
that an increase in the work done by the muscles entails an
increase in the size of the bones to which they are attached. It
may be equally accepted as a physiological doctrine that a disuse
in the muscular apparatus of the human frame entails a diminution
Discussion. 117
not alone in the muscles themselves, bat also in the bones to
which they are attached, and which they consequently employ as
fulcra during their action. Hence it is readily seen why, not only
all the muscles of the body and the bones of the pelvis as well as
the bones of the hands and feet in delicately reared women, are-
smaller then in those accustomed to manual labour. Now in
addition to this small ing of the muscles as well as of the bony out-
let of the pelvis tending to impede natural labour, there exists yet
a further increase to the difficulty of parturition in the refined
woman, from the fact that her own augmented education induces a
pari passu increase of cerebral development (by reason of here-
ditary transmission) and consequent increase in the circumference
of the head of her offspring. So that there is thus a double reason
why refined and highly civilised women should have more difficult
labours, and less bodily recuperative capacity after them, either
than savage women, or their less favoured civilised sisters, living
in a rude, uneducated state.
Moreover, the changes in the frame of a highly educated woman
and her offspring, brought about by the refining influences of a high
civilisation, become more and more marked through generations of
hereditary transmission. Just as the rats in the Mammoth Cave,
and the fish in the Adelsberg grotto, have become blind, by genera-
tions upon generations of their ancestors having never had occasion
in their dark underground dwellings to use their organs of vision,
so in like manner, the bones, as well as the muscles of men and
women, from a partial disuse of them in several generations of
their ancestors, became smaller. The diminution in the size of the
bones and muscles of the hands and feet, engendered by an absence
from hard labour through several generations is, in fact, so
apparent that it has given origin to the proverb that—
" In little hands and feet we trace
The scions of the higher race,"
"What holds good for the muscles and bones of the frame holds
equally good for the brain and the internal organs of the body. So
that just as the features of the face are transmitted from parent to
child the mental qualities and internal (invisible) organisation is
as well. Hence we find that " constitution " is handed down from
sire to scion, be it bad or be it good, just as physiognomy is. One
is not surprised then at hearing that the naked Terra del Fuegian
woman transmits to her babe her own power of enduring with
immunity an exceedingly low temperature. To such a high degree
too is this the case that her naked infant, but a month or two old,
will lie unconcernedly smiling and crowing at the bottom of its
mother's fishing canoe, while cold snow flakes are falling upon, and
melting from off, its bare skin. A counterpart to this fact is
related at p. 224 of Mr. Seton Karr's " Shores of Alaska," where
he gives a sketch of a little child of the Oodiak tribe of Indians,
who, clad in nothing but a short cotton shirt, with bare feet, legs,
118 G. L. GOMME. — On the Evidence for Mr. McLennan 's
and head, walked across the Nuchuk mountain pass mid snow and
ice with perfect impunity.
These two cases cannot but be regarded as truly typical speci-
mens of transmitted hereditary bodily capacity to endure hard-
ships. For here we have the children of two entirely different
races of men — one in the north of North America, the other at the
extreme south of South America — enduring with impunity a
temperature of the atmosphere so low, that if the children, simi-
larly aged, of a highly civilised European were subjected to it,
they would inevitably shiver, freeze, and die in the space of an
hour or two.
These cases, Dr. George Harley thought, afforded additional
evidence that a high standard of bodily recuperative power is
naturally inherent in the human race, while the formerly cited
examples of an opposite character, go far to show that the refining
influences of civilisation have in reality not proved such an un-
alloyed boon to mankind as is usually imagined, and that all the
present races of men, though they may be of the same flesh and
blood, are not endowed with the same degree of bodily sensibility
and recuperative vitality, and while they may be further said to
account for the well known fact that the present race of delicately
nurtured women are the victims of migraines, and neuralgias, which
were as much unknown, even byname, to their great grandmothers,
as they are to the present races of out-door labourers and unedu-
cated savages.
The following paper was then read by the Author : —
On the EVIDENCE for MR. MCLENNAN'S THEORY of the
PRIMITIVE HUMAN HORDE.
By G. L. GOMME, Esq.
WHEN we come to look into Mr. McLennan's evidence, and to
examine his theory on the origin and development of social
forms, we are struck by the fact that he nowhere states the
evidence for his first stage— the primitive human horde. He
starts " from the conception of populations, the units of which
were homogeneous groups or tribes," and which did not possess
any system of blood kinship1 ; but beyond the fact that the
assumption thus made fits in remarkably well with all the later
stages of his theory, which are amply supported by evidence, he
does not critically examine the evidence for the primitive horde.
Even the title — the horde — which I have ventured to assume is
Studies in Ancient History," pp. 127, 153.
Theory of the Primitive Human Horde. 119
that which best expresses Mr. McLennan's meaning, is only
used by Mr. McLennan himself incidentally ; and occasionally,
as in the quotation just used, it gives way to the less exact
terminology of " populations," " groups," or " tribes."
It is singular that not only Mr. McLennan himself, but none
of his able critics has definitely met the proposition which the
theory of the primitive human horde clearly places before us.
It is just possible that when Sir Henry Maine appeals so
forcibly to biology and to savage society for examples of his
own theory of parental groups against Mr. McLennan's theory
of the horde, he may have in his mind exactly that large body
of evidence which Mr. McLennan has left untouched. But then
Sir Henry Maine does not proceed to examine this evidence.1
Nor does Mr. Lang, the greatest living authority who supports
Mr. McLennan's theories.2 In fact, almost all the enquiries
which have taken place since Mr. McLennan's researches
directly opposed those of Sir Henry Maine, have been bounded
and limited by the theory that the earliest social unit was
necessarily the family.3 The family appears in history, in its
most archaic form, as the unit of the geuealogic tribe. But the
tribe, made up of these family units, is just then entering upon
its career in the formation of nations — is, in fact, just on the
threshold of modern history. And at the back of this union of
families is that large body of custom, whatever it may prove to
be, from which kinship-formed tribes were developed. Under
whatever form of society this body of custom existed, there is no
part of it which entitles us to use such a term as " family " in
connection with it. It was not a family unit in independence ;
it was not a group of family units bound by kinship ties. If,
therefore, we may properly dismiss the term family as a
scientific appellation for the earliest group of human beings,
and if we may consistently call it the horde, borrowing the
term from Mr. McLennan, we shall, at least, be clearing the
way to prevent a misconception from a confusion in terminology.
It may be as time goes on, and, as evidence increases, that some
modifications in the conception of the horde will arise ; but the
point to be insisted upon now is that the term horde does not
convey any special associations with modern history, and that it
most probably will, therefore, gradually assume the meaning
with which scientific research will in future endow it.
Mr. McLennan's conclusions, derived, be it observed, from
1 See " Early Law and Custom," p. 192.
2 " Early History of the Family," in his. " Custom and Myth."
3 See Mr. C. 8. Wake's article on " The Primitive Human Family," in the
" Journ. Anthrop. Inst.," vol. ix ; and Mr. Lang concedes this point to Sir
Henry Maine, in his " Custom and Myth."
120 G. L. GOMME. — On the Evidence for Mr. McLennan's
phenomena found to exist in savage races inhabiting all parts of
the world, may be shortly stated as follows : —
1. That the earliest human mode of living recognised no
basis of blood relationship, the association between the
sexes being best described by the term promiscuity,
and the children at this stage belonging to the horde.
2. That there existed within the horde the conception of
stocks, such stocks being found to be always exogamous,
i.e., the members of any stock may not marry within
their own stock, but must obtain wives, or husbands,
from other stocks.
3. That the scarcity of women produced a rude system of
polyandry, i.e., one wife between several husbands.
4. That blood relationship to the mother first became
recognised, and hence arose a system of kinship
through females only.
5. That the constant state of war between group and group
necessitated the capture of wives from foreign groups.
6. That in course of time this system of kinship through
females and exogamous marriages would produce
heterogeneous groups, each group containing within
itself members of several other groups (the children of
the women of such other groups).
7. That these heterogeneous groups would therefore contain
within themselves all the conditions cf exogamous
marriages, and that hence members of the same local
group, being of different kinship, could marry.
8. That from these conditions of early society would arise a
recognition of paternity, and hence a system of kin-
ship through males as well as females.
Now it is clear that to make the various stages of this theory
perfectly consistent one with another, we ought to know some-
thing about the conditions which formed the human horde from
which was developed all the subsequent phenomena of early
human society. Mr. McLennan has arrived at his first stage by
the exhaustive examination of the evidence which proves his
later stages, and he practically postulates that granting his
general conclusions the human horde must have been the
earliest stage of man's existence. To Mr. McLennan himself we
may perhaps be inclined to admit his full right to |o deal with
the subject; but it is, at all events, a matter which deserves
some degree of independent treatment, and it is in this light
that I propose to deal with it. My question is, Is there any
evidence, other than that based upon simple argument, of the
earliest stage of human society, the primitive horde ?
Theory of the Primitive Human Horde. 121
In the first place we will turn to the biological evidence. At
the outset it is important to note that the great authority of
Mr. Darwin cannot be claimed so completely on the side of the
origin of society in the parental group as Sir Henry Maine
would seem to imply. He quotes from Mr. Darwin (" Descent
of Man," I, 362), a passage from which I will only re-quote one
sentence, "in primeval times men .... would probably have
lived as polygamists or temporarily as monogamists." But Mr.
Darwin has another passage (" Descent of Man," I, 84) which
directly opposes the theory of original parental groups. " Some
authors," he says, " suppose that man prinievally lived in single
families ; but at the present day though single families, or only
two or three together, roam the solitude of some savage lands,
they are always, as far as I can discover, friendly with other
families inhabiting the same district." It is this complex group
then, from which the history of man has to start. But there
are other points insisted upon by Sir Henry Maine, and these
are, rightly enough, those where Darwin, summarising his
evidence as to man's primeval condition, asserts that " their
intercourse, judging from analogy, would not then have been
promiscuous," and they "would not at that period have partially
lost one of the strongest of all instincts common to all the lower
animals, namely, the love of their young offspring " (II, 367).
These results from the biological evidence are brought to bear
against Air. McLennan's conception of the characteristics of the
horde, and they must form the starting point for our researches.
Mr. McLennan has used certain expressions in his description
of the condition of early man which have proved to be not only
the centre point of attack by those who oppose his general
theory, but which have entirely diverted attention from much
more important conclusions resulting from the theory. The
chief of these expressions is that of " utter promiscuity " as a
description of the marital conditions of early man. Now of
" utter promiscuity " there is no evidence from the types of
savage society now extant. The nearest we get to it is
" temporary monandry," as Mr. Darwin terms it, which consists
of the choice by a woman of a husband, who is husband just so
long as offspring is begotten, and requires protection. That the
period during which man, woman, and child kept together was
in the earliest natural development of human life of much
longer duration than modern civilisation allows to be necessary
is asserted by Mr. Fiske and allowed by Mr. Herbert Spencer.1
" Children not so soon capable of providing for themselves had
to be longer nurtured by female parents, to some extent aided
1 " Principles of Sociology," i, pp. 56, 630.
122 G. L. GOMME. — On the Evidence for Mr. McLennan 's
by male parents." But as soon as offspring were capable of
taking care of themselves the parental tie was snapped. The
children would certainly go their own ways — the male to
become in his turn a hunter and fisher, more or less connected
with his fellow man, the female to become the partner of her
accepted lover. It is impossible to conceive parental affection
extending beyond the period when such steps were taken,
and the evidence of later marital relationships makes it
impossible to conceive that the union of the parents would
continue.1
But just as there is no excuse for calling this system of
temporary monandry by such a historical term as family, so
there is no excuse for using the term " utter promiscuity."
There is no reason again to suppose that " paternity " was un-
certain and, was, therefore, incapable of being recognised. Both
paternity and maternity were certain, and they were fully
recognised. Where the break occurs between this primordial
system and the later system is that the recognition was simply
one caused by natural instincts, and that it was temporary in
its duration and quickly became lost. In short, the relationship
between the sexes was a natural and not a political relationship.
Because primordial men did not, throughout life, recognise a
bond of affection for offspring, and did not use the potent fact
of kinship to constitute a social unit, it does not follow that
they did not know of the paternal and maternal instincts, were
not influenced by sexual jealousy, and did not know of the
connection between parent and child. All that can be said of
them is that they did not use these several natural facts to
produce artificial, or, as it is best to say, political combinations.
Biology therefore teaches us this : that our primordial ancestors
roamed the earth, possessing all the natural instincts, but
without the capacity of using these instincts for any political
purpose. There is a vast difference between the absolute non-
recognition of the ties of parental kinship, and the non-use of
them for the purpose of generating a new departure in the ways
of man, and in this difference will be found all that is to be said
against Mr. McLenuan's terminology. If we can only thoroughly
grasp the fact that the ties of kinship, whether male or female,
are in every sense artificial conceptions, and that consequently
their introduction must have been preceded by a long period of
natural combinations of human beings, we gain the first
important step in the history of the primitive human horde.2
1 Many examples exist in savage society where the parents separate after the
birth of a child.
2 Mr. McLennan says " the development of the idea of blood relationship into
a system of kinship must have been a work of time." — " Studies in Ancient
History," p. 84.
Theory of the Primitive Human Horde. 123
Before the ties of kinship could have formed societies, children
must have habitually stopped with parents, grandchildren with
grandparents, cousins with their kindred. How recent in the
history of man such artificial associations were made cannot, of
course, be ascertained, but I shall have something to say upon
this point later on. In the meantime, the fact to notice is that
the primitive human horde was kept together by quite other
influences than kinship, and our next step must be to enquire
what these influences were.
Mr. McLennan has only hit upon a portion of the true
solution. In a passage which contains a curious mixture
of terminology, but which evidently refers to "the earliest
human groups [which] can have had no idea of kinship," he
observes that the " fellowship between the members of such a
group would be that they and theirs had always been com-
panions in war or the chase — joint-tenants of the same cave or
grove."1 Companionship in danger, and food-winning, and
contiguity of occupation are here indicated as the ties of associa-
tion. Mr. Lang introduces us to one other probable explanation
of the ties that held the horde together. Noting that totemism
"arose at a period when ideas of kinship scarcely existed at
all," he goes on to remark that " above all the very nature of
totemism shows that it took its present shape at a time when
men, animals, and plants were conceived of as physically akin."2
This is a very important factor in the early life of man. Clearly
if the first-formed groups of man were based upon a totem-
organisation and not a blood tie; if totemism includes a
common worship of some object of nature ; and if such worship
is produced by an incapacity in man's early conceptions to
separate his own being from animals, plants, and other nature
objects around him — clearly we must look for evidence as to the
earliest social organisation to such of the forces of nature as
might have determined the range of contiguity of occupation, or
the means of establishing common interests.
Before adducing any evidence as to man's early associations
with nature, it seems worth while to enquire whether in the
lower organisations there is any evidence as to forces which
produce groups other than those founded upon the ties of blood.
For this purpose I will make one quotation from Darwin, which
exactly explains the initial facts which I am anxious to accen-
tuate. Mr. Darwin says " Most animals and plants keep to
their proper homes and do not needlessly wander about. We
see this with migratory birds, which almost always return to
the same spot. Consequently each newly formed variety would
1 " Studies in Ancient History," p. 84.
2 " Custom and Myth," p. 262.
124 G. L. GOMME. — On the Evidence for Mr. McLennan 's
generally be at first local, as seems to be the common rule with
varieties in a state of nature ; so that similarly modified in-
dividuals would soon exist in a small body together, and would
often breed together. If the new variety were successful in its
battle for life it would slowly spread from a central district,
competing with and conquering the unchanged individuals on
the margin of an ever-increasing circle."1 How clearly this
explanation meets the phenomena to be met with in man's
earliest stages will, I think, be shown as we proceed.
It is neither necessary nor expedient to examine now any
considerable mass of evidence relative to man's attitude towards
the great powers of nature. The subject has not yet been
approached with due regard to its importance as one of the
determining features of man's earliest ways of life ;2 but there is
sufficient accumulated evidence for us to be able to give some
typical instances of the forces that kept the primitive human
hordes together.
When in the mid-pleistocene age of geology we find that man
has made his way into Europe as far west and north as Britain,
we find him in the presence of abundance of food, but with
difficulty guarding himself against the wild animals. In-
numerable horses, large herds of stags, uri, and bison were to be
seen in the open country ; three kinds of rhinoceros, and two
kinds of elephant lived in the forest; the hippopotamus haunted
the banks of the rivers, as well as the beaver, the water-rat, and
the otter ; there were wolves also, and foxes, brown bears and
grizzly bears, wild cats, and lions of enormous size ; wild boars
lived in the thickets ; and as night came on the hyaenas assem-
bled in packs to hunt down the young, the wounded, and infirm.3
Not daring to penetrate into the vast forests that stretched
themselves around him, but keeping to the river courses man
thus progressed from point to point over the earth's surface,
absolutely bound by the conditions of his life to subordinate
himself to the external forces which kept him confined to very
restricted areas for his wanderings. The narrowing down of the
territorial lines of progress narrowed down too the forms of the
social grouping ; and an examination of the geologic evidence
confirms the view that as there was no necessity for, so there could
have been no thought of, artificially formed societies. The
successive waves of migrationists were bound together by the
1 " Descent of Man."
' Mr. Spencer," Principles of Sociology," cap. iii, " Original External Factors,"
brings clearly together the chief heads of this subject, and concludes (p. 39)
" that the earlier stages of social evolution are far more dependent on local con-
ditions than the later stages." But it is singular how little this important con-
clusion is brought to bear upon Mr. Spencer's subsequent researches.
3 Boyd Dawkins' " Early Man in Britain," p. 137.
Theory of the Primitive Human Horde. 1 25
accumulated and accumulating fears of the dangers that sur-
rounded them.
Such fears found their ultimate expression in a system of
nature worship, which even now forms a large portion of the
creeds of savage people. The Aka of Assam, we are told by Dr.
Hunter, " fears the high mountains which tower aloft over his
dwelling ; he fears the roaring torrents of the deep glen ; and he
fears the dense and dark jungle, in which his cattle lose their
way ; these dark and threatening powers of nature he invests
with supernatural attributes ; they are his gods."1 This forcible
example is but an instance of what is met with all over the
world. Among all the hill tribes of India the mountains are
the abode of demons. Among the Khumis, each peak in the
native hills is held to be the watch-tower of a god.2 A hill in
Rambon Island is supposed to be the abode of evil spirits.3
Nothing but positive orders and accompaniment by us would,
we are told, induce the Mugs to trespass on many of the hill tops,
which were inhabited, they said, by demons.4 The Nicobar
islanders have a good and evil spirit, the latter resides in the
woody interior of the island.5 The extensive forests untrodden
by human foot, are believed by the Coorgs to be reserved for the
abodes of deified heroic ancestors.6 And so it is all over the
world.7 Hemmed in and confronted on all sides by such
enemies, the primitive human horde was kept together by out-
side forces, not by internal arrangements. As man spread over
the earth, treading the river paths for the first time, skirting the
fearful forests, and looking upon the distant hills with some-
thing more than awe and wonder, fighting his way before his
fellow animals in the struggle for existence, there is ample room
for the conception of a vast period of time for the existence of
the horde — a period which even Plato contemplated when he
measured the difference between the social forms of the Cyclopes
and those of the Greeks of his day.
That man's experiences during this long period of time have
materially affected his later life there cannot be any doubt.
Many conceptions which originated with the horde have sur-
1 " Statistical Account of Assam," i, 356.
2 " Journal As. Soc. Bengal," XT, 63.
3 Ibid., IT, 83.
4 7&nZ.,x,430.
8 " Journ. Anthrop. Inst.," iii, 4.
6 Richter's "Manual of Coorg," 166.
'• I would refer particularly to Mr. McLennan's articles in the " Fortnightly
Keview " vols. xii and xiii, on " Tree and Animal Worship," and to the
" Journal of the Ethnological Society," new series, vol. i, pp. 23, est seq., for a
summary of the evidence. Mr. Walhouse's " Bagbushes and Kindred Obser-
vances," " Journ. Anthrop. lust.," vol. ix, pp. 97-106, should also be consulted.
126 G. L. GOMME. — On the- Evidence for Mr. McLennan 's
vived after the formation of kindreds. All that large system
of nature worship, which dictated to the primitive settlers in
villages that the clearings in the forest could not be made till
the tree deities had been compensated,1 which taught that the
earth spirit must be propitiated at the founding of a new village,
and that the earth demons fought against the growth of corn or
other agricultural produce,2 originated when man had not pro-
gressed beyond the stage of the primitive horde ; and only at
last gave way when man's conception of the bonds of kinship
had developed into a worship of ancestral spirits. Again, it has
already been observed that the conception of totemism originated
in the horde, and yet lasted down very late when tribes had
been formed upon the basis of kinship. The strength of these
survivals of portions of the organisation of the primitive horde,
may well lead us on to enquire whether there may not be any
survivals of the horde itself, or at all events of groups of human
beings so little advanced along the line of development formed
by kinship as to show us a near type of what the primitive
horde must have been.
Whatever may have been the district in which man was first
evolved from his ape-like progenitors there is considerable evi-
dence to prove that Central Asia is the district from which suc-
cessive migrations have flowed. It may be taken for granted,
I venture to suggest, that the effects of migrations must have
been enormous in modifying the social conditions of the primi-
tive hordes ; and that hence the nearer the centre of the original
home the more likely are we to meet with types nearer to
the original condition. But whether it be admissible or not
to advance these arguments drawn from the natural history of
man as in any way accountable for facts in his social history, it
is certainly not unimportant to note that the regions of Central
Asia do supply us with types of human hordes the most nearly
coincident to what Mr. McLennan has prepared us to expect
from the evidence he has adduced as to the origin of the later
forms of society based upon kinship. Leaving for other con-
sideration such types of roaming groups, not to be identified with
kinship-formed groups, as may be found in the Wood Veddahs,
who roam about in pairs ; the Bushmen, who wander in small
isolated families ; the Fuegians in clusters of a dozen or so,3 we
will, as a working hypothesis, confine our immediate attention to
the Central Asian evidence.
1 See a conspicuous example of the superstitions of the woodcutters in
Hunter's " Statistical Account of Bengal," i, 312.
2 I have collected some examples of this in my " Folklore Belies of Early
Village Life," cap. vi.
3 Spencer's "Principles of Sociology," i 482.
Tlieory of the Primitive Human Horde. 127
The hill tribes of India afford the most singular specimen
of the primitive horde, both in respect of the external forces
which keep it together, and of the internal organisation which
regulates the conduct of individuals to one another. This
specimen is the Abor tribe of the Assam Hills. Of the external
forces which alone form the means of keeping the horde to-
gether we have the following evidence : The religion of the
Abors consists of a belief in those sylvan deities to each of
whom some particular department in the destiny of man is
assigned. A mountain called Rigam is the favourite abode of
the spirits and is held in great awe, no one being able to return
from its summit. Losses of children are attributed to the spirits
of the woods, and retaliation is made by cutting down trees till
the loss is made good.1 Clearly with such beliefs in the sur-
rounding nature gods there is little room, as there is scarcely
any need, for the development of a social system based upon
any other observable phenomena than the greatest one of all,
namely, locality. Pressed on all sides by the fear of mountain
deities and tree deities the outcoming life from such a set of
conditions must depend almost entirely upon local not personal
influences. And such we find to be actually the case.
It is a pity that minute examination of the social system of
the Abors has not been made. One thing it is very important
to obtain information about, namely, the existence of totemism.
If the Abors are a typical example of the primitive horde they
would be constituted upon a totem system, or would have the
germs of the totem system within their group. Their worship
of nature and their special worship of tree deities would lead us
to expect some traces of totemism. But no traveller amongst
them has recorded any such traces. It is, however, important
to note than Mr. McLennan has found sufficient general evidence
to be able to state that " the totem stage appears to have been
passed through by numerous tribes of Central Asia ";2 and one
of these tribes I have been able to discover is a near neighbour
to the Abors. Of the Khasias, Dr. Hunter says " there is no
caste system, but each clan is called after some object of nature,
as the oak clan, the crab clan, &c., and these names entail certain
restrictions beyond which intermarriage is forbidden."8
Leaving this evidence for what it is worth, and I would sug-
gest it is worth further enquiry, we have yet to note one definite
fact about the Abors which goes far to establish the theory that
they represent a type of the primitive horde. Though exter-
nally they make up one group — a human horde that is — inter-
1 Hunter's "Statistical Account of Assam," i, 337.
2 " Fortnightly Keview," 1869, xii, 418.
3 " Statistical Account of Assam," ii, 218.
128 G. L. GOMME. — On the Evidence f<yr Mr. McLennan' s
nally there are no traces of the cohesion resulting from the ties
of recognised kinship. We are told that " the Abors, as they
themselves say, are like tigers — two cannot dwell in one den ;
and their houses are scattered singly or in groups of two and
three over the immense extent of mountainous country occupied
by them. The Meris say that whenever a few families of Abors
have united into a society, fierce feuds about women and sum-
mary vengeance, or the dread of it, soon breaks up or scatters
the community."1 In the unpleasant details of the internal
condition of the Abor people we meet with Mr. Darwin's
example of temporary monandrous groups in local contact with
each other, the whole forming, as I would submit, a type of the
primitive human horde. The entire absence of the ties of kin-
ship prevents the growth of family power within the horde,
while the connection between the various sections is shown by
the marriage intercourse of their members. Kept together by
outside forces, possessing no doubt some forms of the totem
system, which is a binding power between the units not de-
pending upon blood ties, and being entirely free from the ties
of kinship, these Abor people present a very good example of the
horde stage of human society.
If we extend our observations from this Abor type of the
primitive horde to any parallel types we are at once reminded
of the famous example of the Cyclopes. Sir Henry Maine,
equally with Plato and Aristotle, adduce the Cyclopes as evi-
dence of the parental origin of human society. The passage in
the " Odyssey" is thus rendered by Mr. Lang: " and we come to the
land of the Cyclopes, a forward and a lawless folk, who plant not
aught with their hands, neither plough. These have neither
gatherings for council nor oracles of law, but they dwell in
hollow caves on the crest of high hills, and each one utters the
law to his children and his wives, and they reck not one of
another." But in confining attention to this one passage only
it has been overlooked that the groups of men, women, and chil-
dren thus described were bound together by some sort of com-
mon tie. Thus Polyphemus in his agony calls for assistance
" on the Cyclopes who dwelt about him in the caves along the
windy heights." This tie we know was not one of recognised
kinship for " they reck not one of another ; " and it must have
been the common dangers, the common fears of the surrounding
nature spirits, in short, all the recognisable forces which formed
the primitive human horde, and which we have found existing
1 "Asiatic Society of Bengal," xir, 426-428; Hunter, "Stat. Account of
Assam," i, 351. It is asserted by Dalton that the Abors and the Meris are of
the same race. But Dr. Hunter pointedly states the many objections to this
theory arising from the difference of customs, religion, &c., ibid., p. 333.
Theory of the Primitive Human Horde. 129
among the Abors. If we wanted a short summary of the
social condition of the Abor people Homer's language about the
Cyclopes would in every way answer the purpose ; and con-
versely, it appears to me that a more elaborate description of the
Cyclopes is to be obtained from what is known of the Abors.
Clearly such an exchange of definitions indicates a social
parallel of remarkable closeness.
The close parallel which thus clearly exists between the
Abors and the Cyclopes as types of a social stage in man's
history is of great importance in a scientific sense. Both geo-
graphically and chronologically they are discontinuous; and
discontinuity, to use Mr. Wallace's term, of two identical types,
argues great antiquity for the type. There are nearly 4,000
miles of territory and nearly 3,000 years of history separating
the two peoples. The safe conclusion to draw from these two
important factors in the case, is that both Abors and Cyclopes
belong to an epoch in human history which witnessed the con-
tinuous population of this long stretch of territory by groups of
the Abor and Cyclop type.1 It may be impossible to prove
that this epoch may be identified with an epoch drawn from the
records of other sciences; but if the theory which has been
advanced is worth anything, it ought to stand the test of com-
parison with the established facts of geology.
These types of the primitive human horde, as also the con-
ception of it suggested to Mr. McLennan by his researches into
the earliest developments from it, enable us safely to draw one
conclusion, namely, that unorganised itself, or at all events very
loosely put together, it was not capable of meeting any strongly
organised opposition from powerful enemies. Such is the
decisive evidence of the Abor type ; the Cyclopes declined to go
to the assistance of their injured comrade ; and of one parallel
type which I have noted from Africa, the Mashona tribe of the
Transvaal District, it is stated that " they live by families
[groups] on separate hills, and though they intermarry, they
1 Another example of such a group may be adduced from the remarkable
tradition of the Northern Kuris preserved in the Sanscrit texts, translated by Mr.
Muir, see Part -II, p. 336. It is quoted by Mr. McLennan in his " Studies in
Ancient History," p. 119. And to show that the Abors are but a type of the
general aboriginal Indian group I would quote Sir Alfred Lyall's very suggestive
description of the Bheels. They are " all sub-divided into a variety of distinct
groups, most of them apparently muddled together by simple contiguity of
habitation or the natural banding together of the number necessary for main-
taining and defending themselves." — " Asiatic Studies," p. 160. And he goes on
to say that " we might make out roughly, in central India, a graduated social
scale, starting from the simple aboriginal horde at the bottom and culminating
with the pure Aryan clan at the top ; nor would it be difficult to show that all
these classes are really connected and have something of a common origin."
This passage is a remarkable confirmation of the conclusions I had arrived at
before I saw it.
VOL. XVII. K
130 G. L. GOMME. — On the Evidence for Mr. McLennan s
keep up perpetual feuds ; it would be most difficult to fuse this
mass into a united nation [group] ; their very division into units
must ever prevent their holding their own against any organised
power."1 Now the only organised opposition which the primi-
tive horde could have met would have arisen from hostile
hordes of man ; and geology clearly establishes that such an
opposition was obviated by the immense area over which the
earliest races of man spread. It is quite impossible to read the
evidence as to the records of the earlier stone-age man, which Mr.
Worsaae has supplied in his " Pre-History of the North," with-
out being struck by the fact that a constant spreading out over
the unoccupied lands always met the pressure of population.
And it is curious to compare with this Mr. Boyd Dawkins'
description of the earliest races of Britain. Whether by accident
or design, whether a strict deduction from geologic evidence or
not, Mr. Boyd Dawkins makes the difference between the man
of mid-pleistocene age and later comers to be that the former
were hunters and fishers without social organisation, while the
latter appear in tribes. It may be premature to assume that the
geologic evidence so nearly meets the anthropological as to
assert that early stone-age man spread over the earth in hordes
uninfluenced by the ties of kinship ; but it becomes an admis-
sible suggestion that the two branches of scientific evidence
thus brought face to face may conjointly yield the conclusion
which has been first deduced from other data.
There is yet one other argument to consider before concluding
our enquiry. Granting that the first spread of man might have
been by hordes, uninfluenced by the ties of kinship, successive
waves of migrations, bringing with them the necessary conquest
of the descendants of previous ages of migrationists, must have
been bound together by closer ties than those that bound the
horde. As already we have laid stress upon the fact that, as
there was no necessity for, so there was no thought of, a closely
knit, artificial society during the earliest periods of man's mi-
grations, it is correlatively necessary to lay stress upon the fact
that when later waves of migration spread their way over the
earth, there then arose a necessity for artifically formed society.
Man had then to meet man in conflict. To successfully over-
come the unorganised hordes of hunters and fishers, the forma-
tion of which we have just been examining, organised bodies
must have been formed. Everything in geologic evidence tends
to confirm this proposition. There is nothing in the records of
the earlier stone- age people, representatives, that is, of the
1 "Further Correspondence Relating to the Transyaal" (House of Commons),
c. 4646 of 1886, p. 118.
Theory of the Primitive Human Horde. 131
primitive human horde, to tell of any development, even after
long ages of settlement, in the social forms. But in the later
stone-age people, representatives, that is, of the first wave of
conquering tribes, there is much to tell of a development in the
social forms. Possessing new and improved weapons, which
became the object of barter, accompanied by whole trains of
domestic animals, oxen, sheep, swine, and horses, penetrating
into the forests, which had only as yet been skirted, the later
stone-age people must have been organised upon some tribal
basis unknown to the earlier hordes. That this basis was one
of kinship, is the conclusion to be drawn rather from anthro-
pological than geological evidence; but the latter goes far
towards proving such a conclusion from its own records, when
it is considered that now, for the first time, the dead are care-
fully buried, indicating that the ties of kinship had already
influenced human thought.
It would appear then, that the first ages of migration witnessed
too the formation of tribal organisations based upon the ties of
kinship. Such tribal organisations, according to the researches
of Mr. McLennan, had, for their distinctive features, the
reckoning of kinship through females, and the practice of poly-
andry. Explanations have been offered as to the origin of
female kinship and of polyandry, but neither the uncertainty of
paternity in the first case, nor the practice of female infanticide
in the second case, can be said to be sufficient for all the facts.
Already we have noted the objections to the theory of un-
certainty of paternity, and great authorities have declared against
the theory of female infanticide.1 If, then, the conditions of the
primitive human horde, both in its normal state and at the time
when it met its first human enemy, answer in any degree to the
descriptions which my arguments allow us to formulate, they
ought, also, to give some clue to the origin of the two principal
phenomena which Mr. McLennan has adduced as belonging to
man's earliest development from the horde, namely, polyandry
and kinship through females. The horde possessed, or had
developed, the principles of totemism and exogamy. To these,
at the time of the great migrations, were super-added the
principles of polyandry and kinship through females, and the
point we have to consider is : Do these later developments show
anything of cause and effect ? are the facts of migration sufficient
to bring about the development of tribal society based upon
polyandry and kinship through females?
Sir Henry Maine has already suggested that the scarcity of
1 See Fison and Howifc's " Kamilaroi and Zurnai," p. 174 ; Sir Henry
Maine's " Early Law and Custom," p. 212.
K2
132 G. L. GOMME. — On the Evidence for Mr. McLennan 's
women, and consequently polyandry, might be due to the
wanderings of our race ;l but the examples he quotes are all
historical, and are hence limited and isolated in extent. No
limited or isolated practice can, however, account for a
phenomena in human history which is claimed to be one of the
stages through which mankind must have passed on its way
to civilisation, and Sir Henry Maine is not slow to point out
this very material objection. But pre-historic migrations were
neither limited nor isolated.2 They covered almost all the lands
to which the earlier stone-age people, the primitive hordes, had
penetrated. It is quite conceivable that the earliest adventurers
would seek to be accompanied by some women, and it is equally
conceivable that the number of male adventurers would greatly
exceed the female. Historical migrations have ever been so,
and so must pre-historical migrations have been. Such an initial
inequality between the sexes would probably become intensified
as the dangers of the migrations increased, and hence would
arise the rude system of polyandry. Compelled thus to acknow-
ledge ties which had previously not been so prominently thrust
forward, the new migrationists would soon perceive that the fact
of kinship was of enormous importance in keeping their own
race distinct and clear from the people they were conquering or
enslaving.3 The war was not now one between man and nature
only ; but between man and man. The fight was harder, and
the organisation of the conquerors must have been closer, and it
was formed upon the conception that there could be no affinity
between the new coming conquerors, and the scattered hunting
and fishing people — a conception that could only become of
supreme importance if the ties of observable kinship were
gathered up and utilised for political organisation. Thus would
originate kinship groups, as opposed to local groups ; and thus
polyandry and descent through the female would be the first
distinguishing marks of the earliest kindreds.
Although I do not lay claim to the idea that, such a
hypothesis, as I have here ventured to formulate, can be
absolutely proved by the only science which is capable of
affording such proof, namely, anthropology, yet I suggest that it
is wTorth while putting it forward for consideration. In the first
place it affords, so far as it is at all tenable, a conception of the
earliest form of human society which entirely fits in with the
1 "Early Law and Custom," p. 212.
2 Geological changes and meteorological changes as well as the consequent
changes of flora and fauna must have been causing over all parts of the earth
perpetual emigrations and immigrations. — Spencer's " Principles of Sociology,"
i, p. 18.
3 Cf. Worsaae's " Pre-History of the North," p. 26.
Theory of the Primitive Human Horde. 133
theory of one important authority — Mr. McLennan — on the
later developments of society. In the second place no one has
yet supplied the necessary groundwork upon which such an
enquiry may be based. So far, then, as my researches are in
accord with Mr. McLennan, and so far as they fill up a gap in
anthropological science, I venture to hope that they may be of
service as a working hypothesis for future research.
DISCUSSION.
The PRESIDENT thought that the author had done good service
in bringing to notice a definite stage in the theoretical course of
human evolution, which had as yet received no generally accepted
name. It was the stage, as the author had shown, before any
recognised system of kinship existed, and before there were any
political bonds, but one in which, people were aggregated solely
under tbe compression of external influences. He had, however,
some doubt whether the stage in question was aptly enough
expressed by the word that the author desired to use for it.
" Horde" is a term of Asiatic origin, still and always used to express
aggregations of men living under very different social conditions
to those just supposed. It is true that in colloquial English the
word horde is often used in a vague sense, and this h.e suspected
to be due to some confusing similarity in sound between it and tbe
word herd, wbicb he need hardly say was of entirely different
origin and meaning. Neither did he wish to convey the slightest
intimation tbat the author had himself unintentionally con-
founded the two. Still, it seemed to him that the word herd,
though not free from objection, was more appropriate to the
social stage that tbe author desired to express, tban the word
horde.
The AUTHOR in reply to the President said that the reason why
he had chosen the word horde was because Mr. McLennan had
already used it. Moreover, it had not come to have any very
great political meaning yet, and in time tEe scientific meaning
wbicb was now sought to obtain for it would in the end overshadow
what little political meaning was attached to it in connection with
the Huns of Attila, and other famous " hordes " of men. The
term "berd" was already usefully and definitely used for animals,
though there was nothing in its signification which would not suit
the definition he sought to give to the period of human life which
it might represent. As to the examples he had given of tbe
primitive human horde, he by no means suggested that they were
absolutely types of this far-off period of human history ; all that he
suggested was that they gave us the nearest parallel to what the
primitive human horde must have been, although they might have
reached tbeir modern form by degradation from higher civilisation,
for degraded types of bumanity probably retraced some of their
former steps of progress.
1 34 List of Presents.
A Note on the D ley ere Tribe of South Australia by Mr.
Samuel Gason, communicated by Mr. J. G. Frazer, was read by
the Secretary. This is printed in the Miscellanea at the end
of the present number of the Journal.
JUNE 14m, 1887.
FRANCIS GALTON, Esq., F.B.S., President, in the Chair.
The Minutes of the last meeting were read and signed.
The election of Sir WALTER BULLER, K.C.M.G., F.R.S., of
52, Stanhope Gardens, was announced.
The following presents were announced, and thanks voted to
the respective donors : —
FOR THE LIBRARY.
From the UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. — Dinocerata, a
Monograph of an Extinct Order of Gigantic Mammals. By
Othniel Charles Marsh.
From the ASSOCIATION. — Report of the Fifty-sixth Meeting of
British Association for the Advancement of Science ; held at
Birmingham, in September, 1886.
From the SOCIETY. — Proceedings of the Royal Society. No. 254.
Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society. 1887.
June.
Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania
for 1886.
Journal of the Society of Arts. Nos. 1801-1803.
Boletim da Sociedade de Geographia de Lisboa. 6A Serie.
Nos. 9, 10 ell.
Bulletin de la Societe d'Anthropologie de Lyon. Tom. v.
1886.
From the SCOTTISH GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY. — The Scottish Geo-
graphical Magazine, Vol. Ill, No. 6.
From the EDITOR. — Nature, Nos. 917-919.
Science, Nos. 224, 225.
The Photographic Times, Nos. 296-298.
The EARL of DUCIE, F.R.S., exhibited three perforated stones
from Scotland, known locally as " Mare-Stanes," and the follow-
ing note on the subject was read by the Secretary : —
EARL OF DUCIE. — Exhibition of Tliree " Mare- Status." 135
EXHIBITION of THREE " MARE-STANES," or " HAG-STONES."
By the EARL of DUCIE.
THE following is an account of three " Mare-stanes," Anglice
H&g-stones, received by Lord Ducie, from Marykirk, Kincardine-
shL-e, N.B., May, 1887.
One of the stones has two human teeth inserted and fixed in
the natural holes in the stone. It was known to have been
70 years in one house, and was given to Mr. A., of Marykirk,
by an old lady. She had used it to ward off bad dreams. '
The other two are thus described by the person who procured
them : " Mare-stanes were very common thirty years ago in
this district (Marykirk), and many are used yet, but those who
are in possession of them do not like to own it. They are still
common in the fishing villages along our coast.
" The old grandfather of Mrs. 1ST. sometimes comes to Mary-
kirk on a visit, brings his Mare-stane in his pouch, and hangs
it in his bed. He comes from Stonehaven, and is an old
fisherman.
" Sandy M's. wife, while she stayed at B., always kept the
Mare-stane in the bed ; and a Mrs. G., of Edinburgh, a lady who
came to B. many years, always liked that stone in her bed.
" Old Susan S. assures me that when the females of a house
had all the work, and were ' stinted ' to do a given amount of
work at the spinning wheel before they got any supper, and so
much before they went to bed, they were very liable to take
the 'Mare' (i.e. nightmare) owing to anxiety connected with
their stints, and the ' Stane' was a regular preventive. Mar-
ried ladies, she says, when in an interesting condition, were
very particular in having the Mare-stane in the proper place,
and she has known ' Stanes ' hung in byres, behind cows
expected to calve, to ensure safety.
" How it is that the natural worn hole gives this charm, I
cannot tell.
" I am assured that there are not a few in our village besides
these, but one does not care to hunt for these sacred relics. We
are not a superstitious people, but somehow a veneration and
reverence is set on any thing or custom which our mother or
grandmother had or did."
Dr. John Evans, F.R.S., writing to Lord Ducie on the subject
gave the following references : — Brand's " Popular Antiquities,"
by Ellis, 1849, vol. iii, 279-280, in referring to nightmare, quotes
thus from Aubrey's " Miscellanies," p. 147 : — " To hinder the
nightmare, they [people in the north of England] hang in a
136 Discussion.
string a flint with a hole in it (naturally) by the manger; but,
best of all they say, hang about their necks, and a flint will not
do it that hath not a hole in it. It is to prevent the nightmare,
viz., the hag, from riding their horses, who will sometimes
sweat at night, the flint thus hung does hinder it." He adds,
" Grose says, a stone with a hole in it, hung at the bed's head,
will prevent the nightmare ; it is therefore called a hag-sUne
from that disorder, which is occasioned by a hag or witch sitting
on the stomach of the party afflicted. It also prevents witches
riding horses; for which purpose it is often tied to a stable
key."
In " Notes and Queries," series vi, vol. 1, p. 54, is given an
abstract from an old book printed in Queen Elizabeth's time,
headed "Of the Nightmare;' describing a "t'onde foolishe
charme " as follows : " Take a Flynt Stone that hath a hole of
hys owne kinde, and hang it oner hym . . ." to which the
written charm, as there related, is to be attached.
DISCUSSION,
Dr. EVATSTS observed that. i,t was the first time that Tie had heard
of the use of human teeth in connection with "hag-stones" or
" witch-stones." It seemed possible to account for the idea that
horses were ridden during the night by -witches, from the animals,
when ill, being found in a state of sweat in the morning, for which
such exercise might seem to account. But in what manner a
stone with a hole in it sufficed to exclude witches, or how the
nightmare was transferred to the human being, involved more
difficult questions. The great prevalence of the use of the hag-
stones in the district of Marykirk was remarkable. The use of
" lucky-stones " was common, and he had cited intances in his
" Stone Implements." The use of a hollow stone to hang up in
our stables to prevent the Ephialtes, or nightmare, is mentioned
by Sir Thomas Browne. — " Vulgar Errors," Bk. v, ch. xxii, sec. 7.
Mr. RUDLER remarked that the three stones exhibited varied
much in mineralogical characters. One was a water- worn frag-
ment of limestone, drilled by a boring mollusc ; another was a
piece of quartz, probably from the crystalline schists of the east of
Scotland, containing a greenish chloritic mineral, the natural re-
moval of which seemed to have formed the holes in the stone ;
while the third was a jaspery pebble, probably derived from a
conglomerate in the Old Red Sandstone.
A perforated stone is sometimes known in the north of England
as a Hog-stone, and in Harland. and Wilkinson's " Lancashire
Folk-Lore" (p. 154), it is said that a hog-stone, or stone with a hole
in it, is tied to the stable-key, in Lancashire, to protect horses, or
is hung at the head of the bed to protect the farmer and his family.
CAPT. C. E. CONDER. — HiUite, Ethnology. 137
In the south of England, it is not uncommon to find flints with
natural perforations, and these are commonly regarded by children
as " lucky-stones." In Butler's " Hudibras," we read of a sorcerer
who could—
" Chase evil spirits away by dint,
Of sickle, horse-shoe, and hollow flint ."
The following paper was read by the author : —
HITTITE ETHNOLOGY.
By Captain C. R. CONDER, E.E.
THE President having done me tlie honour to ask me to read a
paper about the Hittites, I have here sought to show the general
considerations which appear to guide us to a right understanding
of their race, religion, language, and customs. It is a question in
which I have been interested now for seven years, and I hope
that I have not failed to read every work of importance that has
been written on the subject.
I propose to assume that the Kheta known to the Egyptians,
the Khatti conquered by the Assyrians, and the sons of Heth
mentioned in the Bible are the same people. This has been
disputed, but since it is held to be the case by Prof. Sayce, Dr.
Taylor, and M. Perrct, and was, I believe, recognised by Lenor-
mant, and since these writers have given their reasons for such a
conclusion, it appears to be sufficiently recognised to be certain
of final acceptation.
The study of any people of antiquity rests, according to Max
Mtiller, on a knowledge of physical appearance, language, and
religion. A race may lose to a certain extent its characteristic
type through difference of climate, of food, or of habit, or through
admixture of foreign blood. It may adopt a new foreign
religion ; it may forget its original language ; but if we can find
it preserving a type, a religion, and a language which all belong
to one original pure stock, we are then able to recognise the
relation of the stock to others of the same human family.
It might at one time have appeared incredible that we should
ever know anything of the Canaanite tribes which preceded
Israel in Palestine, and which were almost exterminated in the
south at the time of the Hebrew conquest ; but it was quite as
unexpected in the last century that we should ever recover
Sennacherib's account of the siege of Jerusalem, or know the
historv of Nebuchadnezzar from official records. Since we have
138 CAPT. C. E. CO^DEH.— Hittite Ethnology.
in Egypt pictures which are known to represent Hittite kings
and warriors, and statues of the gods with hieroglyphic texts
discovered in the Hittite country, it is clear that it is no mere
theory with which we have to deal, but with records as real and
as important as those whereby the Egyptians, the Akkadians, the
Medes, the Babylonians, Assyrians, Etruscans, Persians, Greeks,
and Phoenicians are already more or less well known to us all.
And first as regards race, it is a well known fact that the
ancient sculptors of Asia and of Egypt carefully distinguished
the various peculiarities of race in their pictures. In Egypt side
by side with the varioiis Egyptian types we find the black negro,
the hook-nosed Semitic people, and the yellow peoples of the
north represented. The Phrenician with shaven upper lip and
long beard, the brown ancestor of the Arabs, are clearly dis-
tinguishable from other types ; and at Tell Loh, by quite recent
discoveries, a dark race, with fine features recalling the Abyssinian,
has lately been brought to light, which is no doubt the same
" dark people " mentioned in one of the oldest cuneiform records.
I understand that the question of obtaining good reproductions
of these various types is already under consideration, and no
doubt interesting papers on this subject may be shortly expected ;
but in the meanwhile I may say that the differences of type are
already so well known and are so marked that we have sufficient
evidence in the pictures of Eosellini, Sir Gardner Wilkinson,
Brugsch, and others to enable us to draw very definite conclusions.
On the walls of the great temple of Karnak the Hittites of
Kadesh are represented warring against Eameses II. Two races
have combined their forces and are easily distinguished in these
pictures. The one is a dark or brown race, bearded, and
resembling the ordinary Semitic type. This no doubt is the
population which accounts for the Semitic nomenclature of
Palestine before the Hebrew conquest, which is to be recovered
in the long list of towns conquered by Thothmes III in Palestine.
Kadesh, the great city where the battle against Eameses II was
fought had itself a Semitic name, and no fact is better established
than the existence in Palestine as early as 1600 B.C. of a people
speaking a language akin to Hebrew.
But side by side with this population, the ruling class
as represented in the chariots which are rushing towards the
Egyptian army, or fleeing before the Pharaoh, there are warriors
and drivers of another type. They have a lighter complexion.
They have black hair and eyes, but no beards. Their moustaches
are long and their heads are more or less shaven, and they have
real pigtails like the Chinese. I well remember Dr. Birch five
years ago in the British Museum bringing out for me the plates
in Eosellini and saying, " Look at the Hittites, are they not just
CAPT. C. R CONDER. — Hittite Ethnology. 139
like Mongols or Chinese ?" It was then a new idea to me, but
if we reflect on the relations of race still notable in travelling
through Palestine and Northern Syria, it seems to me that we
perhaps begin to understand Hebrew history better. The war
against the Canaanites may have been only part of the con-
stantly recurring struggle still going on in Syria between the
Semitic and the Turanian peoples; the race hatred between
Israel and Canaan becomes identified with that antipathy which
has always existed between these two peoples, who nevertheless
have lived together since the dawn of history and have mutually
influenced and civilised one another.
The evidence of physiognomy seemed, I would submit,
sufficient ground for an inquiry into the relationship which the
Hittites, if a Turanian people, must have borne to other
Turanian populations in the west of Asia. Now in studying
such a subject it is absolutely necessary to begin by accepting
what has been laid down by competent authority. I do not
claim to have any opinion as to the true home of the Turanian
race, or as to the relationships between north and south
Turanian languages. Max Mliller enumerates more than 100
such languages spoken in Asia, of which more than half are
grouped as South Turanian, including the Indian, Malay, and
Himalaic groups. He regards this great number of tongues
which (as compared with eight Semitic and some forty Aryan
tongues) represent a large majority of Asiatic languages as being
all more or less remotely linked to that most archaic form of
Asiatic speech — the oldest Chinese. According to the generally
received theory the majority of North Turanian tongues are
grouped together as Ugro-Altaic, on the supposition that the
home of the race was in the Altai Mountains north-west of
China, and that the Turanians of Western Asia migrated thence.
The Finnic tribes, among whom are reckoned four great families,
are those which seem to have penetrated furthest west. Their
families are — 1st, the Ugric, including Hungarians, Voguls, and
Ostiaks ; 2nd, the Bulgaric, who advanced from the Asiatic
Bulgaria to the country now so called ; 3rdly, the Permic ; and
4thly, the Chudic, including Lapps, Finns, and Esthonians. Of
these Finnic peoples the Hungarians and the Finns are the most
civilised ; and the Kalevala is a native epic which has been
called the Turanian Iliad, and which, to the student of Asiatic
mythology, is of the greatest possible value.
Next to these Finnic peoples the Turkic tribes have to be
considered. From the Oxus they pushed gradually westwards
into Asia Minor and Mesopotamia. The Turks, Turkomans, and
Siberians, the races of Anatolia and Koumelia, the inhabitants of
the Crimea, are classed by Max Muller as Turkic, and the
140 CAPT. C. R COXDEK. — Eittiie Ethnology.
modern Turkish language, with its wonderful grammar and its
vocabulary full of Arabic, Persian, and other foreign words,
represents the results of centuries of foreign influence on the
hardy horsemen of Central Asia.
The eastern groups — the Mongols and the Tunguse peoples
near China need not arrest our attention. It is with the
migrants who went west that we have evidently to do, not so
much with those who went east or south towards China and
India.
Now among the great discoveries of the cuneiform scholars
none is more wonderful than that of a Turanian population
existing long before 2000 B.C. in Mesopotamia. The ancient
Akkadian language is thought to have become a dead language
about 1500 B.C. The language of the common people of Media,
known by the inscriptions of the Achaemenidse after the fall of
Babylon, has been closely studied by Lenormant, and he says it
is found to approach both in its grammar and in its vocabulary
to the Akkadian — this is the so-called Proto-Medic; further
south the Susian language, though its grammar differs, yet retains
many of the old noun and verb roots of Akkadian quite in a
recognisable form ; and is said, indeed, to be nearer Akkadian
than is the Proto-Medic. There are other dialects called Cassite
and Sumerian, distinguished, yet akin to Akkadian, and Akkadian
being some 2,000 years older than Proto-Medic, being in fact the
oldest known Turanian language of Western Asia, has even been
called the Sanskrit of Turanian tongues.
The investigation of Akkadian has led to just the results
which might naturally be expected. It is found to differ in
structure from any modern Altaic tongue, but to be nearest to
the Finnic languages or more probably to the Turkic. The
Finns call themselves Suoma-lainen, or " fen dwellers," a word
which the great French scholar Lenormant compares with the
name Sumerian, which was proper to the inhabitants of the
lowlands near the Euphrates and the Tigris, as distinguished
from the Akkadians or " highlanders." Whether the Finns
came westwards or pushed northwards practically they are
the same original people, we may say, as the old Altaic
race of Chaldea. Finnic and Turkic languages supply a key
to the Akkadian cuneiform like that supplied by Coptic for
Egyptian.
Another scholar working without any reference to the
Akkadians in the first instance has demonstrated the fact that
the ancient Etruscan race in Italy was also Altaic and that the
Etruscan language is akin to the Finnic languages. This
student was Dr. Isaac Taylor, and on comparing his Etruscan
vocabulary with Akkadian I found many words which are the
. C. E. CONDEE. — Hittite Ethnology. 141
same, including nearly every word which he had been able to fix
by comparison with Finnic languages.
But yet more, although Basque is not grouped as an Altaic
language but with Esquimaux as an "incorporating tongue,"
that is to say, one perhaps more primitive than the Finnic,
still Lenormant has shown that the vocabulary and the grammar
of the Basque both shew a connection with Akkadian. Even in
Egypt, though the language is distinct, a certain number of loan
words are said to have been discovered which are identical with
Finnic words. These separate studies by distinguished students
serve then to connect more or less the Finns, the Basques, the
ancient Etruscans (and to a certain degree even the Egyptians)
with the old Turanian populations of Mesopotamia.
Tracing back from Etruria or west from Media, we shall find
it possible perhaps to fill up the gap also in Asia Minor. The
Etruscans are said to have been related to the Carians, Lycians,
and Lydians ; and Lenormant long ago stated as a fact that all
across what is now Anatolia an ancient Turanian population ex-
isted akin to the Akkadians. The Carian and Lycian mercenaries
found their way to Egypt, and the evidence of palaeography
seems to show that the same population may have existed in
Cyprus. The Etruscans were a sturdy, big-headed people, with
eyes oblique like the Chinese, black hair, high cheek bones,
squat figures, and without beard or moustache. If we go to
Cappadocia and look at the monuments cut on the rocks we
find exactly the same type — the sturdy figure, short nose, and
hairless mouth. This type of race recalls that of the Mongols
in later times as described by travellers, and it is as much
contrasted as possible with the Semitic type.
Seeing then that the Hittites were shut in on all sides by
Turanian tribes, said to be akin to the Akkadians, and re-
membering their own Mongolian appearance, we might be
justified in supposing that they belonged to the same race. In
Akkadian and Etruscan and Proto -Medic we have ancient
languages, which we may perhaps compare with that spoken by
the Hittites.
A curious peculiarity of dress also serves to indicate the
same general connection. In Cappadocia and in Anatolia the
monuments represent figures with a boot or shoe curled up in
front. An Assyrian representation of an Armenian merchant
shows the same boot. Prof. Sayce has called it a snow-shoe,
but I think Sir C. Wilson first compared it with the boot now
worn by the peasantry of Asia Minor. Perrot compares it with
the cavalry boot worn in Syria, and with what we call a Turkish
shipper. I find also that the Etruscans wore a similar shoe
called Calceus Repandus by the Komans. On the monuments
142 CAPT. C. R CONDEK. — Hittite Ethnology.
at Karnak the Hittites are represented wearing the same shoe,
and although it is not of necessity a mark of race, it is still
curious that this curly-toed boot was common to the various
Turanian peoples of Syria, Asia Minor, Armenia, and Italy.
But as regards the language it may be asked : How do we
know monumentally what language the Hittites spoke ? We
may know from the names of their kings, and from the names
of towns in the Hittite country, as recorded by the scribes of
Rameses II and of Thothmes III. The topographical lists are
about as old as 1600 B.C., and the lists of kings about as old as
1340 H.C. The scholars who have written on this subject, from
Chabas downwards, have agreed in saying that the names of
the Hittite kings are not Semitic, and not Aryan, and that they
must either be Turanian, or belong to that class of languages of
the Caucasus, which has been called Alarodian. In a list of
twenty-five royal names, we find the words Tar, Sar, Nazi, Lar,
and others repeated as personal names. These are not new or
unknown words at all. They occur in the languages already
noticed. Unless some new reading is pronounced to be correct
in cuneiform we have Tar, Sar, Nazi, occurring in personal
names in Akkadian and in Proto-Medic; and in Susian also Nazi
occurs. Lar is a very familar Etruscan word for a chief, and I
venture to compare it with lul and rar for chief, enumerated as
Akkadian words in Prof. Sayce's "Assyrian Grammar." There are
many similar cases in the name list in question, and although
such evidence is, of course, not sufficient to show that the
Hittites talked Akkadian, it seems to me strongly to favour the
view that they gave to their kings titles which can be shown to
be common words meaning "king," "chief," or "prince," traceable
through very many Altaic languages or dialects.
The topographical name lists are not only earlier, but they
are more valuable, because they include no less than 200 names.
They are, however, very difficult to study for several reasons.
Mariette, Maspero, and other scholars have given much attention
to these lists, which occur in hieroglyphic writing at Karnak.
It appears to be generally recognised — and I believe Lenormant
held the same view — that the names in question are in some
cases Semitic, and in other cases — probably in the majority—
non- Semitic. The first difficulty then is to distinguish between
these two classes of names. Kadesh, for instance, the Hittite
southern capital, had an evidently Semitic name; but Car-
chemish, their northern capital, had a name which is not
Semitic, according to general opinion. In addition to this
difficulty there is the difficulty of correctly deciphering the
hieroglyphic signs. There is not a complete agreement appa-
rently on this point. What some scholars have taken as a
CAPT. C. E. CONDEK. — Hittite Ethnology. 143
determinative, others have read as a syllable, and the characters
on the walls of the Karnak Temple — some of which are quite
obliterated — have been differently represented.
But even with all these drawbacks, there remains a great
deal that is certainly known and generally agreed to concerning
these town names, and I believe it is recognised that next to
the study of the names for numbers, for relationships, and for
very common objects, the geographical names of a country
afford some of the most valuable possible evidence concerning
the race which gave those names. The lists in question I have
studied geographically for ten years, and a great many sugges-
tions as to the probable sites, in the south especially, which I
ventured to put forward in 1876, I find to have been accepted
by M. Maspero, and by Rev. H. G. Tomkins, who has devoted
much labour to this question, and appears to have fixed many of
the sites in northern Syria and Asia Minor. Going over these
lists again and again with the hieroglyphics before me arid with
the aid of the papers by M. Maspero, Mr. Tomkins, and Prof.
Sayce, it has seemed to me more and more clear that the sounds
in a great many cases are the same to which I find a geogra-
phical meaning attached in the glossaries of Akkadian prepared
by Lenormant, by Delitszch, and by others.
I am, of course, aware that the study of Akkadian is so
rapidly advancing, that sounds which occur in all the books
written some years ago may now be considered incorrect by the
accepted authorities. It is also certain that as a great many of
these sounds are common to all the various Finnic and Turkic
languages, they would not serve to do more than to establish
generally an Altaic connection. But even this would be a
great gain, and I think that by using the works of Donner, of
Castren, and of Vambery, on which Lenormant used to rely in
fixing the pronounciation of Akkadian words, it ought at least
to be possible to arrive through these lists at a general idea of
the language spoken in the Hittite country between 1600 and
1300 B.C. If we take, for instance, the word Ma, which
Lenormant and F. Delitszch, in their Akkadian glossaries, have
stated to be an Akkadian word for country, and which Dr.
Taylor believes can be recognised in Etruscan, we find that it
exists as the word for country in all the Finnic languages.
Thus, even if scholars are convinced that in Akkadian it ought
to to be read as Mat, and in Proto-Medic as Murun — words
which were known to Lenormant— it still appears probable
that it must be a very old Altaic word, because it is common to
so many Altaic languages. It would, therefore, be a very
valuable word to recognise in Hittite nomenclature, if it can be
shown that in Hittite it had the same meaning. I venture to
144 CAPT. C. R. CONDER. — Hiitite Ethnology.
say that if these valuable geographical lists are studied on this
principle, it will become possible to show in a convincing
manner that the Hittite language was akin to the languages of
Mesopotamia and of Media, at least in possessing these simple
roots which are traceable, hardly changing, in existing Altaic
tongues.
The personal and geographical names also give some evidence
— as has been shewn by Prof. Suyce — of the grammar of the
language. The genitive appears, at least in many cases, to
precede the nominative, which would not be possible in a Semitic
language, but which is often found to be the order used in
Altaic speech. This does not appear, however, to have been an
invariable rule in Hittite, if we are to acknowledge the cele-
brated boss of Tarkondemos as Hittite. On that boss the
genitive appears to follow the nominative, according to Prof.
Sayce's arrangement of the symbols, the order being the same
found in Akkadian; as, for instance, in the tablet of Singasid as
read by Mr. Pinches. In the Proto-Medic languages, according
to Lenormaiit, the genitive may either precede or may follow
the nominative — possibly then, from the evidence above men-
tioned, the same may have been the case also in the Hittite.
There is not, indeed, any evidence that the Hittites spoke
Akkadian, but I venture to think that there is considerable
prima facie evidence in favour of their language having
affinities at least to that ancient tongue, evidence quite
sufficient to justify further research on such a supposition.
The third branch of enquiry is that which concerns the
religion of the Hittites, and concerning this we may gather a
great deal of valuable information, both from the Egyptian
records, from the name lists already noticed, and from sculptures
and gems more or less clearly connected with the Hittite race.
In the famous treaty with Rameses II, the Hittites invoked the
gods, and especially one called Sutekh, with the rivers, the
mountains, and the clouds, the winds, and the sea. No less than
a " thousand gods " are said to have existed in the Kittite
country ; and this I suppose may be taken to indicate an ani-
mistic belief like that which gave a nymph^ to every stream, a
dryad to every tree, a god to every great mountain, among the
Greeks. This belief in numerous spirits, good and bad, in beni-
h'cent deities of the sun, the moon, the ocean, and the rivers,
also clearly existed among the ancient Turanian populations of
Media and of Mesopotamia. As regards Sutekh or Sut (for
Chabas has given reasons for supposing that the name occurs in
both forms), he has been generally supposed to be the same as
the god Sut or Set, who from an early period was worshipped
also in Egypt. His name does not appear as yet to have been
CAPT. C. E. CONDER. — Hittite Ethnology.. 145
found among those of gods invoked by the Akkadians, though
Lenormant mentions as possible a connection with a god called
Shita among the Assyrians. In Phoanicia, close to the Hittite
country, several gods, originally Akkadian, appear to have been
adored until quite late historic times. Adonis has been said to
be the same as Tammuz, originally an Akkadian god ; and Nergal
is perhaps another instance. He was represented with a lion's
head, and his portrait occurs on a bas relief, discovered on the
Phoenician coast, while his name is known in connection with a
Phoenician settler in Greece. Nergal, however, was also adored
by the Semitic race of Mesopotamia. Quite lately in Anatolia
the same lion-headed god has been found represented, but the
bas relief bears no inscription, except a possible hieroglyph above
the head, which represents a long-eared animal, perhaps a hare
or an ass.
The representation of deities at Boghaz Keui, in Cappadocia,
may also throw light on Hittite religion. Prof. Sayce considers
that the Hittites were a Cappadocian people ; and, as already
noted, the sturdy figures, the hairless faces, and the shoes, serve
to connect these figures both with the Hittites, and also with the
Etruscans.
It has been doubted whether all the figures at Boghaz Keui
are to be considered to represent gods, although the invocation
of a " thousand gods " by the Hittites shows that there is no
impossibility in their having represented a great number of
deities in one picture. The winged figures at least, both in
Cappadocia and also at Carchemish, can hardly be meant for
anything but divine persons ; and I think the same will be
admitted concerning the figures standing erect on the backs of
lions. In Phoenicia and on Greek Asiatic coins gods are so
represented, and in Hindu mythology every deity has his appro-
priate Vehan, or animal, on which he stands.
At Boghaz Keui the winged sun is sculptured above one of
the chief figures. At Eyuk we have rude representations of
sphinxes, recalling not only the Egyptian sphinx, but also
similar monsters on seals from Mesopotamia, or represented in
Etruria, where the scarabeus was as much a sacred emblem as
in Phoenicia or in Egypt. At Ibreez there is a gigantic figure,
supposed to represent a god, which has/ a horned head-dress, like
that which the water -god Ea wears on seals, said to be Baby-
lonian or Akkadian. This giant in curly-toed shoes and a short
tunic, like that of the Cappadociau gods, holds in one hand a
vine, in the other a long stalk of corn-ears. He clearly repre-
sents a god of corn and wine, and over his head occurs an
inscription in what is now known as Hittite writing. In this
case curiously enough both the god and the king or priest, who
VOL. XVII. L
146 CAPT. C. E. CONDER. — Hittite Ethnology.
approaches him, wear beards in the Phoenician or Greek fashion,
whereas the Cappadocian figures are beardless. The general
evidence of the monuments and records, seems clearly to show
that the Hittite religion must have been of the same character
as that of the Egyptians, Etruscans, and Akkadians, consisting
in the personification of natural powers : the sun and moon, the
ocean, the earth, with genii of the rivers and mountains, the
winds and clouds. There does not seem, as far as I can gather,
any evidence of their having worshipped seven planets, nor are
the stars and planets invoked in the treaty — these were the gods
of the Semitic rather than of the Turanian peoples of Western
Asia.
The' female figures of the monuments are very interesting.
The two principal types as found at Carchemish and at Merash,
represent, the one a naked goddess "with her hands supporting
her breasts, the other a mother goddess with a child on her
knees. Both these figures are widely found all over Asia. At
Carchemish, the naked goddess has wings. At Troy, and
recently in Mesopotamia, this figure occurs. I have seen a
pottery representation of the same goddess in the same attitude
found at Gezer in Philistia, and the figure is common in
Phoenicia and in Cyprus. A Hindu goddess is represented in
the same attitude, pressing streams of milk from her breasts to
nourish creation.
The group of the mother and child is equally widely spread.
In India, Krishna and Devaki; in Babylonia, the mother
goddess Nana ; in Egypt, Isis with the infant Horus ; in Italy,
Lucina with her child, represent the same group, which
Lenormant traces in many other cases. The Merash repre-
sentation is extremely rude, but it shews that the same mother
goddess and child were also worshipped in the Hittite country.
So far then the evidence of the sculptures shews nothing very
distinctive in Hittite religion, although the absence of the stars
and planets from the enumeration of their thousand gods seems
io shew their non-Semitic race.
The monuments naturally tell us less of the demonology than
of the worship of the Hittites, yet even on this question some
light is thrown. The belief in innumerable demons, common to
all Asiatics, was a prominent feature in the religion of Akka-
dians and Etruscans. A cylinder found in Lydia, at Aidin,
shews in the centre a two-headed god. In his right hand he
holds a cross towards three worshippers ; in his left, what looks
like a whip towards two representations of demons who are
fighting each other, with two hieroglyphics above them. In the
Akkadian magical texts we have many occurrences of this idea.
The charms of the priests were supposed to breed discord be-
CAPT. C. R. CONDEE. — Hittite Ethnology. 147
tween the demons, who were thus unable to unite their forces
against mankind. There are several other curious figures on
this cylinder, one being that of a god seated on a mountain and
flanked by human figures with eagle's heads. Under his feet is
a deer which seems to be his emblem. This, perhaps, connects
him with Dara (" the deer ") one of the names of the Akka-
dian god Ea, possibly connected with the Esthonian and
Etruscan word Tara, for " God," and thus with the deity called
Tar, in Asia Minor.
On a very remarkable bronze plaque from Palmyra, the two
demons tearing each other are again represented ; and in Etruria
we have representations of good spirits painted red, aud demons
coloured black.
If it be granted on these various grounds of physiognomical,
religious, and linguistic connection that the Hittites were a
Turanian and probably an Altaic race — and these suppositions
I have not seen seriously controverted of late by any who have
given special attention to the subject, we are able to form some
idea of the probable customs of the race in remarkable and
distinctive peculiarities, concerning birth, marriage, death,
dress, war, and the arts and manufactures. The records and
the monuments both throw light, more or less, on all these
questions.
The social manners of the Turanians are very astonishing in
our eyes. The extraordinary custom of the Couvade appears to
have originated among them. We hear nothing of it among
Semitic people, but it existed among the Basques ; Strabo
mentions it among the Iberians ; and Marco Polo found it in
China. It has been traced by Tylor and by Colonel Yule in many
other countries. According to this custom, no sooner was a
child born than the father was obliged to go to his bed, and was
fed on special diet, apparently from some dim idea that any
illness due to over-exertion or exposure of the father would also
affect the infant. We do not, indeed, know of this custom
among the Akkadians or the Hittites ; but it certainly prevailed
among some Altaic peoples, Apollonius Bhodius (as quoted by
Colonel Yule) refers to the Couvade among the Tibareni in
Pontus.
The marriage customs of the early Turanians were equally
curious. Dr. Taylor gives some evidence in favour of the
supposition that the Etruscans traced descent in the female line,
not in the male ; which also was the custom of the population
(probably non-Semitic) of the south of Arabia in Strabo's time.
This custom is closely connected with the practices of exogamy
and of polyandry among Turanian peoples. According to the
polyandrous custom, a woman was recognised as having two,
L 2
148 CAPT. C. E. CONDER. — Hittitc Ethnology.
three, or more husbands — as is still the practice of many tribes
in India, and further north. Exogamy, as Dr. Taylor points
out, was probably connected with polyandry, since the only way
by which a man could obtain exclusive right to a wife among
polyandrous tribes was by purchasing or capturing one from
another tribe. The Etruscans appear to have been exogamous,
and the Hittites. according to the Bible, married out of their
own tribe — at least in the case of the women.
As regards the disposal of the dead, it is certain that many at
least of the Turanian peoples used to burn instead of burying.
The Semitic people seem, historically, to have been always a
burying people. The custom of burning the dead, which can be
traced from Britain on the west to China on the east, was
originally the usual practice among all the Finnic peoples. The
late George Smith was, I believe, the first to point out that the
Akkadians were probably a people who did not bury, but
burned the dead. Dr. Taylor is of opinion that the earlier
Etruscans burned the dead, and only buried in later times. The
Aryan tribes seem to have had both practices ; the later Medes
and Persians had the yet more extraordinary custom of exposing
the dead to be eaten by dogs and birds, as Herodotus states, and
as we find from the Zendavesta to have been inculcated in the
Zoroastrian creed. If the Hittites resembled the Akkadians or
the Etruscans, it would seem, therefore, most probable that they
were a burning people, and we should hardly expect to find
tombs like those of the Phoanicians, or mummies like the
"^Vyptian mummies, or even tumuli such as those in which some
British, Greek, and Scythian tribes interred the corpses of their
chiefs.
I should note that an interesting paper on the subject of such
burning of the dead among the Akkadians has lately been pub-
lished by M. Bertin, who has given strong confirmatory evidence
of the practice from cuneiform records.
It would be, perhaps, not prudent to inquire if the Hittites
drank Koumis, or fermented mare's milk, but of the antiquity
of that custom among Turanians, we have evidence in Herodotus.
The Hittites were, at least, a great horse-breeding people, and
used numerous chariots in time of war. Mr. Houghton believes
that Media and Armenia are the home of the horse, and the
Kurdish and Turkoman horsemen are still famous. In Syria, a
great number of horses are still imported from this same part of
Asia.
From the monuments we obtain clear indications of the
Hittite arms and armour. They used the bow, the spear, the
javelin, the double-headed celt or axe. They had short, broad
swords like that still in use amonor the wilder Arabs. The
CAPT, C. R. CONDEE. — Hittite Ethnology. 149
figures in some cases have what may be taken for a whip, like
the modern kourbach, in their hands. A square buckler is
represented covering one of the chiefs in his war chariot. The
quiver was, no doubt, slung at the chariot side as among
Egyptians and Assyrians. In addition to these weapons a short
club with a round head is often represented — a kind of sceptre,
perhaps, and not unlike the dabbus club still carried by the
peasantry of Palestine. The sceptres borne by the gods at
Boghaz Keui, are sometimes surmounted by a globe, in other
cases they seem to be intended to represent flowering rods like
that which occurs in the hand of one of the great figures in the
British Museum.
The most distinctive peculiarities of dress among the tribes
under consideration, are, the high cap, or tiara, which resembles
very closely that worn by Moslem dervishes in our own times ;
the curly-toed boots or shoes already mentioned, and found to
distinguish the Hittites on the bas reliefs of Karnak ; and the
short tunics of the male figures. The goddesses wear long
dresses represented with many vertical folds, and a high bonnet,
which is very much like that of the Bethlehem peasant women.
A round skull-cap and an ample cloak are also found on some
male figures.
As regards the political constitution of the Hittite tribes,
and their laws and civilisation, something may be gathered
from both Egyptian and Assyrian sources. Thus it appears
that there were numerous chiefs in different parts of the
country, but how far these were independent or acknowledged
one " great king " seems to be matter for further inquiry.
Thus much we know that a great federation was arranged in
face of Egyptian aggression, and that Kameses and his pre-
decessors apparently recognised the ruler of Kadesh as the
principal Hittite king. It seems probable that as among other
Orientals the actual political situation depended on the per-
sonality of the ruler, and that the combinations were continually
altering, as among Arabs, Kaffirs, Afghans, or any other wild
and disunited peoples. The celebrated treaty between Kheta-
Sar and Rameses, which was engraved on a silver plate, recog-
nises various grades of society. The Hittites had chiefs and
slaves, but also skilled workmen, whose labours were in request
in Egypt, and they admitted Egyptian craftsmen into their
country. In fact, the extended trade relations between Meso-
potamia, Syria, Phoenicia, and Egypt, which can be traced back
earlier that 1600 B.C., give us an idea of the civilisation of the
west of Asia, which would hardly be suspected if we confined
our attention to records of fleeting conquests which constitute
the political history of the time.
150 CAPT. C. E. CONDER. — Hittite Ethnology.
As regards architecture, we have a representation of the city
of Kadesh, which shews that in the 14th century B.C., the
Hittites must have advanced far in this art. A town with high
walls and numerous towers is represented from which the bow-
men discharge their arrows. A double moat surrounds it, and
bridges or causeways lead over the water. To the present day
there are remains of this moat surrounding the great mound at
the ruin of Kades, which I proposed, in 1881, to identify with
the Hittite capital — an identification which I now find to be
very generally accepted, since it has survived the criticism
levelled against it. We do not know much as yet about Hittite
temples ; and the representations of the gods are often cut only
on rocks beside rivers ; but I believe that at Ibreez one of the
hiaroglyphic signs may be taken to represent an oblong building
with an inner enclosure or shrine resembling the form of
temple known among the Akkadians and Egyptians, and also
among the Hebrews from Solomon to Herod, as well as among
the Greeks. The high mounds on which the Hittite towns
stood — like the cities of Mesopotamia and of Palestine — were
apparently faced with stone, forming terraces ; and the supporting
slabs were sculptured with various designs. In one instance in
Asia Minor the chase of the stag, and of the hind, by a bowman,
is so represented with a winged, ramping gryphon. In another
case the lion-headed god occurs, holding a fawn or a hare in one
hand, and a sword in the other — the same figure already
known in Phoenicia, and also in Cappadocia. Perhaps, however,
the most distinctive of the Hittite and Cappadocian figures is
the doubled headed eagle found at Boghaz Keui and at Eyuk,
which has been pointed out to be an Altaic symbol used in the
middle ages by the Seljuks, and also adopted by the Franks,
so that to our own times it survives in the arms of the Austrian
and Russian emperors. It appears fairly certain that the walls
and entrances of the Hittite temples and palaces must have
been adorned with bas reliefs and hieroglyphic inscriptions, just
as statues of the gods flanked the doors of Assyrian and of
Akkadian buildings, or covered the pylons of Egyptian temples.
At Merash, a lion covered with hieroglyphics in front and
on the left flank was evidently intended as a corner stone, and
one of the Hamath stones inscribed at one end and on one side
was in like manner intended for a corner position.
That the Hittites possessed the art of writing is thought to be
shewn by the mention of a Hittite scribe in an Egyptian record ;
and it is generally agreed that the hieroglyphic texts found at
Hamath and at Carchemish represent the script employed.
It is also now generally agreed that the syllabic sounds of
what has been called the Asianic syllabary stand to these
CAPT. C. R. CONDER. — Hittite Ethnology. 151
hieroglyphics in the relation of the hieratic to the hieroglyphic
in Egypt, so that from the known sounds of this syllabary as
deciphered in Cyprus, in Caria, in Syria, and in Egypt it may
be possible to recover one sound at least which attached to the
corresponding original Hittite ideogram of the monuments.
As regards the data of these hieroglyphic texts there appears
to be some doubt. Some authorities regard them as belonging
to the latest times of Hittite rule but since in various cases we
find the emblems to be much more or much less conven-
tionalised it seems clear that a long period of time must have
elapsed during which they were constantly in use. Thus the
inscribed bowl discovered in Babylon bears figures much more
like those of the syllabaries than are any found on the bas reliefs
of Carchemish and of Hamath. The monuments on which the
emblems are in relief must be considered probably to be older
than those where the figures are cut in. In Egypt the oldest
hieroglyphics in the Boulak Musaeum are in bold relief, but by
the time of Rameses II they appear to have been in intaglio.
The syllabaries went out of use apparently about the time of the
Greek conquest of Asia under Alexander the Great, and the
hieroglyphic must be much older than the derived syllabic
signs.
There is at least one case where we may obtain some idea of
the date of a hieroglyphic text of the same general character
with those of the Hittites, viz., on the statue of Niobe on Mount
Sipylus. Here we have the older emblems in relief and the
cartouche of Rameses II cut in on the field of the bas relief.
It seems clear that the cartouche is therefore later than the
original work and the native hieroglyphics in this case appear
consequently to be older than 1340 B.C. It appears to me that
without any improbability we may therefore assign the Hamath
and Carchemish stones to the best period of Hittite civilisation,
when the Hittites were recognised by the Egyptians as a great
civilised power, and when we know them to have already
possessed scribes attached to their kings.
Now it will not I think be disputed that the existence of a
hieroglyphic script among these peoples agrees with the aggluti-
native character of their language. This appears to be an
invariable rule. The character and the speech go together, and
as the speech develops so does the script become more con-
ventional. The earliest attempt at recording human events or
human hopes took the form of picture writing, like that of
European Cave-men or of North American Indians, or of the
Bushmen, whose pictures cover the rocks in South Africa. The
hieroglyph is only a step beyond the pure picture, just as the
earliest agglutinative language is only a step beyond the mono-
152 CAPT. C. B, CONDER. — Hittite Ethnology.
syllabic stage, when 'as yet grammar has hardly any existence.
As the idea of the male became the abstraction of the personal
pronoun, so did the hieroglyphic representing the male become also
the sign for " he ; " and, as in Chinese, the noun for " interior "
became the locative sign, so did every other grammatical sign
develop from a root once a noun or a verb. This is laid down
by so many great authorities as to serve for a safe basis in con-
sidering ancient written systems. When language advances to
the inflexional stage the hieroglyphic becomes unsuitable to
express the sounds, and the syllabary becomes a necessity. To
carry the comparison yet further, the most perfectly inflected
languages, the small Semitic group, belong exactly to those
people who first employed the most abstract of human methods
of recording sounds by inventing, or rather by developing, the
Phoanician alphabet, whence in turn all the alphabets of Asia
and of Europe have grown up.
There is, therefore, good reason to suppose that a simple,
almost pictorial system must belong to a simple and early
agglutinative language. We know of Semitic peoples who used
syllabaries, as did Aryan races, but the hieroglyphic system of
Egypt belong to a language of much more primitive character.
The fact that the Hittites used hieroglyphs, the majority of
which are unmistakeable pictures of natural objects, or of manu-
factured objects, though interspersed with other signs which
appear already to have become conventionalised, agrees well
with the supposition that their language was a simple aggluti-
native tongue like that of the Etruscans.
It has been shown by Lenormant, and by other writers, that
the various known dialects of Mesopotamia, Media, and Elam,
though differing considerably from each other, and belonging to
very different historic periods, yet have in common much, both in
structure and in vocabulary, which connects them to each other,
and also connects them with living Altaic tongues. The same
has been found as before said to be the case with Etruscan,
which is connected on the one hand with Akkadian, and on the
other with Finnic dialects. The Akkadian is far the oldest of
these languages of the western Turanians. It is said by scholars
to have become extinct in Chaldea in 1500 B.C., although it may
have survived longer in parts more remote from the advancing
tide of south Semitic immigration. Lenormant in Akkadian,
Prof. Isaac Taylor in Etruscan, have shown how the mono-
syllabic roots recognised in those languages may be traced with
but slight variation through a number of Finnic and Turkic
languages of our own times. These roots are acknowledged to
be the oldest elements of Turanian speech, and although we
have not as yet (as in Aryan tongues) a Grimm's law laid down
CAPT. C. E. COXDEK. — Hittite Ethnology. 153
to rule the variations of sound, still there appears to be in
Altaic speech a less degree of variation than in Aryan lan-
guages.
Now as already noticed the occurrence of the words Tar, Sar,
Nazi, &c., in the names of Hittite kings leads naturally to the
inquiry whether other such simple roots, common to various
ancient and modern Altaic tongues may not also be discover-
able in Hittite inscriptions. The syllabaries derived from the
hieroglyphs give us the means of obtaining sounds, and these
sounds may be compared both with Akkadian sounds, and also
with sounds in living speech.
As regards the cuneiform sounds the question is extremely
difficult because the progress of cuneiform learning constantly
leads to the proposal of new readings for the Akkadian emblems ;
but as regards living languages it is often possible to shew that
an old monosyllabic root, known as an Akkadian sound, has
survived unchanged in many Altaic languages. It appears for
instance that Ma for country must be a very old word, and
Lenormant may have been right in saying it was an Akkadian
word as previously explained. I believe that on the celebrated
Hittite bilingual the emblem for " country" can be shewn to
have the value Me or Ma by aid of the Carian and Cypriote
syllabaries, where this emblem — a double peaked mountain — has
preserved such a phonetic value.
The recovery of these old monosyllabic sounds will of course
only give us a vague general idea of Hittite language. It is on
the grammar much more than on the vocabulary that the
classification of the language must depend. This is stated by
Max Miiller and by others ; and it is recognised by Lenormant
and by many other scholars that the older tongues of Chaldea
are distinguished from modern languages of the Altaic group by
the structure of their grammar. I do not think it will prove
that the Hittites spoke Akkadian. The long words and com-
plicated sentences which scholars of Akkadian give in their
glossaries and in their translations, represent a language where
the incorporation of a great many syllables with the old noun
and verb roots is recognised. The general arrangement of the
emblems on the Hittite texts does not suggest quite such an
elaborate system of incorporation, and the Etruscan epitaphs
appear to indicate a simpler form of speech.
But it is nevertheless possible that the roots may be found in
Akkadian and that the comparison with living languages may
thus be justified, by shewing the possible antiquity of the words
represented by the Cypriote syllables. In studying Hittite we
have at least this remarkable advantage over the cuneiform that
the pictorial meaning of the majority of the emblems is easily
154 CAPT. C. R CONDER. — Hittite Ethnology :
recognised ; thus serving as a check on the word supposed to be
represented by the sound of the derived syllabic emblem. Of
course each emblem Tray have had many names in Hittite, as
each emblem in cuneiform also was connected with many sounds.
If we see a king's head on a coin we may call it " monarch,"
" ruler," or " sovereign," but this does not disprove the existence
of the old word " king," which, if independently proved to exist,
may equally well be applied to the image. Thus the Hittite
emblems were no doubt polyphones ; but one out of many possible
sounds, namely, a monosyllabic word, is preserved for us, probably
by the syllabaries.
It appears to me that these are the principles on which we
should study Hittite inscriptions. I will not attempt to defend
my own tentative work in this direction. I am prepared to
abandon anything that may be shewn untenable by competent
authority in either words, grammar, or subject; but the first
question appears to be the settlement of the principle on which
to work. The Hittites have been thought by some to have been
Semitic, and many attempts have been made to read these
inscriptions as Semitic, and as either letters of the alphabet or
letters and determinatives mingled. I think all such attempts
must fail. We know already of 100 to 130 Hittite signs, a fact
which indicates syllables rather than letters. Nor as far as I am
aware have we any instance in which a real letter (as dis-
tinguished from a syllable) has ever been found in use in a
system including true determinatives. The Hittite language
has also been thought to have a possible connection with
Georgian — a rude, inflexional language — but since Georgian has
not as yet been shewn to throw any light on the bilingual, this
connection can hardly as yet be considered to be demonstrated.
The first important matter is to attain to an agreement as to the
general principles on which the sounds and structure of the
Hittite language are to be studied.
In concluding this general sketch of Hittite ethnology some-
thing may be said as to the arts of metallurgy and of engraving
gems.
The Hittite chariots were plated with gold and silver, the
treaty was engraved on a silver plate, the bilingual itself is on a
silver boss. The use of the precious metals was not indeed
peculiar to the race, since Akkadians, Phoenicians, prehistoric
Greeks, and later Babylonians and Hebrews employed them in
like manner to decorate houses and temples, and to adorn their
persons ; but the practice of metallurgy may, perhaps, also
indicate a Turanian people coming from the mountains near
the Caspian, where such ores were found. The Akkadians
very early understood the art of alloying copper with tin.
Discussion. 155
Bronze vases were captured ir. Syria by Thothmes III, and the
Etruscan bronzes are as well known as those of Phoenicia. The
beautiful forms of the metal utensils brought to Thothmes III
by the Syrians in tribute, shews an advanced state of art in
Western Asia in 1600 B.C., and we may hope to recover in Asia
Minor, and perhaps in Syria, more hieroglyphic texts, and
perhaps the much needed bilingual (which alone can set every
doubt at rest) preserved in bronze, or in more precious metal.
As regards the art of engraving gems, this also was common
to Akkadians, Babylonians, Phoenicians, and probably Hittites.
It seems to me often very difficult to feel certain as to the
origin of seals, cylinders, and gems, which are confidently called
Hittite, in cases where there are no hieroglyphic signs to
indicate their derivation. Seals from Cappadocia and Lydia
might, perhaps, in many cases, be attributed to Altaic tribes
akin to Hittites ; in other cases they may be of Semitic origin.
The curly-toed boot, or the tiara, are not in themselves sufficient
evidence to convince the world in general. But on the other
hand important indications of religious belief, and in a few
cases, even probable hieroglyphics, have already been brought to
light by study of these seals ; and it appears probable that yet
more information may be obtained from the same sources.
I trust, then, that the present sketch of an interesting subject
may be sufficient to shew, first, that the existence of Hittite
archaeological materials is no mere dream of the antiquary ; and
secondly, that there are strong reasons for regarding the Hittites as
a Turanian people, and as akin to the Turanian races of Media,,
Asia Minor, Mesopotamia, and Italy.
DISCUSSION.
Mr. BERTIN said that Captain Conder's interesting and exhaustive
paper raised too many questions to be done justice to in a few
remarks. He had made a great step, but he must be careful not to
accept too easily statements made by others "without any sound
ground, as, for instance, the existence of a black population in
Susiana ; the common customs and the similar religion of two
peoples only show intercourse, and not necessarily racial relation-
ship. One of the most important points brought out by Captain
Conder, if ultimately proved, is the Turanian origin of the writers
of these inscriptions. Mr. S. Poole had on a previous occasion
shown that the invaders of Egypt, the Shepherds, were Turanian,
and that their national god we know was Set ; Captain Conder is
believed to have found this same name among the Hittite gods
(the name Hittites is still provisional) ; and as on the other hand the
Assyrian sculptural monuments show in Syria a non-Semitic
population by the side of the Semites, there is likeliness in the
156 Discussion.
possible Turanian origin of this so-called Hittite population. The
Semites in the Jewish and Phoenician kingdoms may have com-
posed perhaps a kind of aristocracy and have been in a minority.
Mr. Bertin concluded his remarks by expressing the hope that Cap-
tain Conder would soon publish the inscriptions with the characters,
his transcription and analysis.
Mr. HYDE CLARKE congratulated the Institute on this subject
having again been brought forward, for it was to the Institute that
the Hamath sculptures were first made known by their colleague, Sir
Richard Burton, and their character as inscriptions was determined
by himself. Since then that identification had been generally ad-
mitted, and many had devoted themselves to the study. To their
old colleague, the Rev. Dunbar Heath, much was owing for his in-
genious establishment of the parallel passages. The members
therefore welcomed Captain Conder, who had devoted himself
zealously and ardently to the undertaking, and it was to be hoped
he would ultimately achieve the same success as had attended him
in so many years of research in Palestine. For himself it was a
matter of gratification to find so much of his early labour accepted
and established. Before the Hamath epoch until now he had for
thirty years been engaged on the examination of the question of the
earliest populations of Asia Minor, on which the journals of their
two original societies, the Ethnological and the Anthropological,
contained several papers by him. That these populations were
Turanian was an early datum of his, and he had in connection
examined the relations of the Georgian language as well as others.
The inscriptions and the boss of Tarkondemos he had in company
with Mr. Svoboda, the traveller and painter, then present, ex-
amined before it was known they belonged to the Hamath, or, as
now called, Khita, group. Through Mr. Svoboda he had obtained
the first accurate delineation of the pseudo Sesostris, near Ninfi,
and he had ascertained the existence on it of characters non-
Egyptian, although M. Renan contested his decision. He had
also published this in his edition of Murray's handbook. With
regard to the term Hittite he considered it inappropriate and cal-
culated to lead the public astray in an inquiry which embraced
not only Canaan, but Asia Minor and Etruria, and even beyond.
It was curious that there were Hittite names, as he had shewn in
1871, which admitted of a Georgian form. The ideographic form
of Khita as glossed by the boss was, however, different, and he
could not concur with Captain Conder that Akkad was there to
be applied. It was not impossible that Khita inscriptions could
be read in Akkad, for he concurred with M. Georges Perrot, a
great discoverer of Khita monuments, that the inscriptions
could probably be read in some six or seven languages, and
of these he had published forms. Captain Conder adopted a
correct mode in proposing a careful comparison of the paleo-
graphy and of the languages. To shew that the characters
in Khita were descended from original ideographs, he produced
some diagrams showing the distribution of characters in identical
Discussion. 157
forms, so far off on one side as Western China, and on the other
as Western Africa. He also exhibited diagrams of the boss of
Tarkondemos, and of a corresponding form from Carchemish, and
he stated that the first two characters, as deciphered by him, could
readily be identified on the coins of Sardis and other places.
Therefore the decipherment must be carried out as that which he
had discovered of the corresponding languages. As far back as
his first communication on the Hamath characters to this Society
he had stated their resemblance to Cypriote, although in common
with other characters ; but he was not the author of the erroneous
deduction now being made that the sounds of Cypriote and of the
ideographic Khita were consequently the same.
Captain CONDER said that with regard to the points mentioned
by Mr. Bertin and Mr. Hyde Clarke, he had only a few words to
say. As to the dark race, supposed to be recognised at Tell Loh,
their existence or non-existence did not affect his subject, since he
believed the Hittite to be an Altaic people. He was very glad to
find that Mr. Bertin saw no objection to such a supposition.
With respect to the position of women among the Akkadians, he
was entirely of Mr. Bertin's opinion. It appeared to him that the
position of women must always have been lowest when the race
was least civilised, and that as the weaker sex woman is most
honoured by the most cultivated people.
As regarded his proposed reading of the inscriptions, he wished
it to be understood that the work was purely tentative, and put
forward with the view of collecting the opinions of those who
know best. He had as yet seen no reason to withdraw from any
of his views, either as to general construction, or as to the subject
of the texts ; although he had no doubt that many of the details
would require reconsideration. His desire was to demonstrate the
existence of the simple roots, recoverable through the Cypriote,
by means of comparative study of existing Altaic languages.
With respect to Georgian it was quite possible that some aid
might be obtained from that language if it were the case (as Prof.
Hommel states) that it had affinities to the Proto-Medic, since
Proto-Medic is an acknowledged Altaic language and allied to
Akkadian. This Georgian had not, however, been found to throw
any light on the bilingual, nor had any Georgian words as yet
been compared with Hittite words ; whereas at least 45 words in
the geographical and royal lists, noticed in his paper, may be com-
pared with Akkadian, Proto-Medic, Susian, and Etruscan words,
as well as with Finnish, Ostiak, Vogul, Turkish, and with some
Tatar or Mongolian words, and even in a few cases with Chinese.
The parent language from which the older Akkadian, Sumerian,
and Cassite, and the later Median and Susian dialects developed,
would, he confidently expected, be found to be that from which the
Etruscan and the Hittite and Asia Minor Altaic dialects' also
sprang; and he also felt confident that, not only the texts from
Cappadocia and from Ibreez, but also those from Hamath and from
158 H. WALLACE. — The Guanchos.
Carchemish, would be found to be religious, or rather magical, and
not historical.
Postscript.
The following notes should be added to the paper : — 1. The two-
headed eagle mentioned in Cappadocia, &c., was also an Etruscan
emblem. 2. The two-headed deity of Asia Minor and Egypt is to be
compared with the Janus or Janis of the Etruscans. 3. The demon
heads of the Jerablus text may be compared with representations
of the Etruscan Charun, and with the Etruscan Gorgonian heads
with protruding tongues. The same head occurs in Sicily, in Egypt,
in Phoenicia, and in India, representing gods of death and of the
infernal region. 4. The cup held by the goddess at Merash may be
compared not only with the vase of Isis, but also with the cup held
by Istar in Assyrian sculpture. Mr. Bertin connects the cup or
bowl with the cuneiform emblem for the word tin ("life"), and
there is no doubt that it is a widely-spread female emblem all over
Asia.
Since reading this paper the author has continued his study by
aid of living languages and has compared 800 Akkadian and 200
Median words with Tatar roots. He has traced some 200
Egyptian words to a Tatar origin and has compared nearly every
Cypriote syllable with its Hittite original. He has also compared
60 Hittite and Archaic cuneiform signs, and about 40 Egyptian
and Hittite, but finds evidence of a very early separation of these
various systems. He also now believes the Phoenician alphabet to
be clearly derived from the Hittite hieroglyphics. The Mongolian
origin of the Hittites has also subsequently been accepted by Dr.
Isaac Taylor and Prof. Sayce.
Mr. H. WALLACE exhibited some ancient Guancho skulls and
other objects from his excavations in the Canary Islands, upon,
which he made some explanatory remarks.
TJie GUANCHOS.
By HENKY WALLACH, Esq.
DURING my recent stay at the .Canary Islands, and in parti-
cular at Grand Canary, in the spring of 1887, I visited the
abodes and ancient burial places of the Guanchos. I have
climbed the mountain chains of Guayadeque (near Agimes),
and explored, over precipices and rocks difficult of access, the
sepulchres of that ancient and extinct race, where I excavated,
amongst other finds, several skulls, three of which I have the
honour to exhibit at the meeting of this Institute.
The skull which I have marked No. 3 is the skull (with lower
jaw) of a man, in a perfect state of preservation, which demon-
H. WALLACE. — The Guanchos. 150
strates the peculiarities and characteristics of this race in'a marked
manner. The orbits are large and rectangular, the forehead short
and well developed, and the curve is the one peculiar to the type.
It shows the flattening of the parieto-occipital region, is well
developed, and the occipital shows a prominent projection.
The skull is very long and dolichocephalous.
No. 2 is the diseased skull of an old woman. The forehead
represents the character peculiar to this sex. The orbits are
rather low, rectangular, and very large. The skull, generally
speaking, shows in a pronounced way the peculiarity owned by
this sex and race.
No. 1, the skull of a young man, exhibits the intermixture with
other races, and demonstrates the result of the influence of the
Semitic emigration.
I have further brought before this Institute tanned skins and
specimens of vegetable tissues, being parts of garments likewise
found in the sepulchres of Guayadeque.
I particularly desire to mention that during my stay at Las
Palrnas, I had the good fortune to make the acquaintance
of Dr. Verneau of the Paris Museum d'Histoire Naturel, an
authority on the Guanchos, who resided there on a Govern-
ment mission extending over a number of years, and I am greatly
indebted to Dr. Verneau for having drawn my attention to this
interesting branch of science. In the following notes I have
tried to give, in a small compass, the most important anthropo-
logical, ethnographical, and historical outlines of the Guanchos.
As far as I have been able, I have utilized the results of my
researches made on the spot, and I have further made use of
those of others. I take this opportunity to acknowledge the
kindness shown to me by Dr. Verneau.
Under the name of Guanchos are designated the primitive
inhabitants of the Canarian Archipelago, although it is said the
first European conquerors gave to the population of each of
these islands a different name.
There, as in many other archipelagoes, has been noticed a
variation in language between one island and another ; and also
in the different districts of more considerable extent even habits,
customs, and the physical type varied.
The Guanchos were the ancient inhabitants of Teneriffe, and
had most probably spread to the other islands. But in Teneriffe,
it seems that they preserved themselves pure up to the time
of the conquest ; and even the type survives to our day in some
southern hamlets.
A second ethnic type, which recalls that of the Arabs, has
been particularly recognised through the study of the skulls
found at La Isleta, the small peninsula to the north of Grand
160 H. WALLACE. — The Guanchos.
Canary. The neighbourhood of the African coast explains the
presence of this element in the archipelago, which might have
been introduced at the epoch of the extension of the Arab
power in the north of Africa.
The Guancho type, in its craniological characteristics ap-
proaches to that of the ancient race of the Cro-Magnon.
As with the inhabitants of the lowlands of Vezere, the
head is disharmonic. The skull is sub-dolichocephalous, very
broad, the forehead low, and the prognathism never much
accentuated.
A largely developed frontal sinus rises above the low and
very large orbits, of rectangular aspect. The nose is straight,
short, and thick, without being flat. In consequence of the
great development of the bi-zygomatic diameter, and the sharp
retreat of the maxilla part of the face, the cheek bones jut out
very much.
The skull, generally speaking, is wel] proportioned, and
its capacity is considerable. The parieto-occipital region is
very much developed, and the occipital very often forms a pro-
nounced projection. Other anatomical characteristics, resulting
from t^lie examination of the various parts of the skeleton
render the opinion still more probable that the Guanchos
resemble the race of the Cro-Magnon.
In fact with these islanders one meets with column-shaped
thighbones, platycnemic tibi<e, the flattening of the shinbone on
both surfaces, and perforated humeri1 (46 per cent, in the Gulf
of Eisco de Petrigal, Tacaronte). On all the bones the muscular
traces are very marked. In those places where the Arab element
has taken root, and particularly with the people of La Isleta, the
craniological and osteological characteristics are no longer the
same.
As to the physical type of the Guanchos, according to the
first historians of the conquest, they are described as a hand-
some race. They were rather tall, well-built, of athletic forms,
and of a surprising agility. Their complexion was white and
their hair light. The influence of the Arab emigration has been
clearly proved by a partial alteration in certain islands. The
women were handsome, and some of them have been specially
mentioned as types of beauty. The Guanchos were a courageous,
energetic, and warlike race, who for a long time struggled with
tenacity against the European invaders before submitting to
their domination.
What we know of their language leads us to believe that it
1 A depression in the bone where the olecranic process is received, better known
amongst inferior races.
H. WALLACE. — The Guanchos. 161
was connected with the idiom of the Berbers of the north of
Africa, but had borrowed some elements from the Arabic. Certain
•expressions and proper names of ancient chieftains, still borne
by certain families, are all that is left of this Guaucho language,
in place of which that of the conquerors has been substituted.
In many islands of the archipelago there are engraved on
certain rocks signs, which only during the last few years have
attracted the attention of those who have interested themselves
in the history of the Canary Islands.
Domingo Vandewalle, a military governor of Las Palmas, was
the first who in 1752 took up the idea of copying these ; and
it is also due to the perseverance of D. Aquilino Padran, a
•curate of Las Palmas, that anything about the inscription of
Hierro has been brought to light.
In 1878 Dr. Verneau, who copied certain signs in the moun-
tain of Cuatro Puertas, Grand Canary, was lucky enough to
discover in the same island some genuine Libyan inscriptions.
Situated in the ravines of Las Balos, these characters had never
before been noticed.
The inscriptions in the Canarian Archipelago often contain
characters so much deteriorated that it is sometimes difficult to
copy the same faithfully. It is, according to Dr. Verneau, in-
contestable that the Canarian inscriptions are Numidic.
In fact we find here nearly all the signs of the Numidic
inscriptions of Algiers and Tunis, as collected by General
Faidherbe. So far there has been no clue discovered to solve
the mystery of these — for the present — dead witnesses of a
language, the deciphering of which is left to a special study,
apparently of insurmountable difficulty.
The conclusions drawn by Dr. Verneau from the exami-
nation of the inscriptions, seem to corroborate those to which
the study of the physical and ethnographical characters has
led us.
In two of the islands of the archipelago (Teneriffe and
Goinera) the Guancho type has been retained with more purity
than in the others.
No inscriptions have up to this day been met with in these
two islands, and therefore we may conclude that the Guanchos
did not know how to write.
In the other islands we have found numerous Semitic traces,
and at the same time we find here signs engraved in the rocks.
From all these facts we draw the conclusion, that the
Numides, travelling from the neighbourhood of Carthage, and
intermixing with the dominant Semitic race, landed in the
Canary Islands. These are they who have written the inscrip-
tions at Hierro and Grand Canary.
VOL. XVII. M
162 H. WALLACE. — The Guanchos.
The political and social institutions varied. In some parts,
hereditary autocracy prevailed, whilst in others the government
was elective. In certain islands polyandry was practised, in
others monogamy only existed.
Almost all the Guanchos used to wear garments made of
goat-skins and some of vegetable tissues, which have been
found in the sepulchres of Grand Canary.
They had a taste for wearing ornaments, such as dangling
finery and necklaces, consisting of fragments of wood, bone, and
shells, worked in different designs. Beads of baked earth,,
cylindrical and of all sorts of shapes, with smooth or polished
surfaces, mostly black and red in colour, were chiefly in use.
They were also in the habit of painting their bodies.
Numerous objects made of baked earth and greatly varying in
design, have been found in Grand Canary. Though a lengthy
controversy left the object of these " Pintaderas " (a kind of seal),.
open to dispute, Dr. Verneau has proved that their sole object
was to print the body in various colours. They manufactured
rough pottery, mostly without decorations or ornamented by
means of the finger-nail. Various implements in use by the
ancient Guanchos are still common with their descendants ; the
most important being the mill for grinding Gofia. (Gofia is
the Kooskoosou of the Berbers and Moors to this day). It
consists of two grinding-stones resembling those met with even
now among the Berber tribes of Morocco and Algiers. In their
petty local wars, the weapons of the Guanchos were obviously the
same as those of the ancient races of the south, of Europe. The
polished battle-axe was more in use in Grand Canary, whilst
stone and obsidian, roughly cut, was better known in Teneriffe.
Besides these they had the lance, the club, sometimes studded
with pebbles, the javelin, and they may have known the
shield. The numerous natural caves in the mountains served as
places of habitation, while others, artificially excavated, spacious,
and divided into various compartments were also used. In
places where caves were not to be found, they built arti-
ficial shelter, small houses of circular shape, and according to
the narrative of the conquerors they also built fortifications.
The Guanchos were in the habit of embalming certain bodies
before burial, and the proceedings apparently varied in the
different islands. In Teneriffe and Grand Canary, the corpse
was wrapped up in goat and sheep-skins, more or less in
number, whilst in other parts a resinous substance was used to
preserve the body, which afterwards was deposited in caves
difficult of access, or buried under the tumuli. A particular
class of persons was set apart to embalm bodies ; women only
being permitted to preserve bodies of their own sex, and men
H. WALLACE. — 2he GuancJios. 163
for men. The practice of embalming, however, was far from
being generally adopted, and the larger number of corpses were
simply deposited in caves, in tumuli, or in trenches without
employing any means to preserve them from decay.
What we know about the Guancho religion is very obscure.
There was a general belief in a Supreme Being called Acoran in
Grand Canary, Achihuran in Teneriffe, Eraoranhan in Hierro,
and Abora in Palma. The women of the island of Hierro wor-
shipped a goddess under the name of Moneiba. According to
tradition the male and female gods lived in mountains, whence
they descended to listen to the prayer of the people. In other
islands the people venerated the sun, the moon, the earth, and
the stars. The belief in the evil spirit was nearly general.
The demon of Teneriffe was called Guayota, and lived in the
peak of Teyde, which was the hell, called Echeyde.
We have to put the question : Whence have the Guanchos
come — that is to say, this race, which seems to have formed the
nucleus of the population of the whole archipelago ?
For several years past," certain French anthropologists have
called attention to the great physical similarity and character-
istics which existed between the Guanchos and the ancient
French race of the lowlands of Vezere, the Cro-Magnon. The
evidence which we possess permits us to state that this race,
the Cro-Magnon, had emigrated in large bodies towards the
south. It is certain that a branch of this race arrived in
Italy. Representatives of this type have been found in
Mentone, at Cantalupo (Roman Campagna), and further still at
the Isola de Liri. Near the Pyrenees, we find the same type;
near Segovia, in Spain (Province of Old Castilia), have lived,
during the polished stone period, individuals who show the
dolichocephaly of the people of the Cro-Magnon. Near Albania,
in the province of Grenada, skulls of this type have been
excavated.
Without going further into details, we may conclude from what
is already stated, that the race of Cro-Magnon emigrated towards
the south, and crossed the Iberian Peninsula.
In the quaternary age in France, especially towards the
neolithic epoch, it seems to have developed itself towards Spain.
It arrived in the north of Africa, before the Roman period, as
proved by the tombs of Roknia, and it is also probable that it
reached the Canary Islands, before the Roman epoch. It follows,
therefore, that the Guanchos are the descendants of the Cro-
Magnon, who, shortly after their landing in the Canary Islands,
had seen the arrival of people from the northern parts of Africa,
with whom they entered into communication.
Family ties were established between the Guanchos and the
M 2
164 H. WALLACE. — The Guanchos.
former ; and of this intermixture, which extended up to the
conquest, have resulted these numerous mixed types which \ve
find by the side of the almost absolutely pure race.
Etymology.
Nunez de la Pena tells us that the natives of Teneriffe called
themselves Guanchinet, which the Spaniards corrupted into
Guanchos.
Guan, meant person ; and Cliinet was the same as Teneriffe, so
the two words combined signify a man of Teneriffe. Tenerfiz
= Teneriffe, the island of Hell.
There are a great number of hypotheses in existence about
the origin of the geographical name of the Canary Islands. The
most acceptable appears to be that the islands, and in particular,
Grand Canary, was so-called by the Carthaginians, on account of
the great number of large dogs found.
To illustrate the Arab origin of some of the geographical
names in the islands, I discovered, with the assistance of some
Arab friends, the following names in Grand Canary, and notably
on the north-east and east coasts : —
Moya. — Moia, water.
Firgas. — Faradja, giving ease, on account of its salutiferous
mineral wells (still in existence).
Tarnaraceita. — Tamar, a date tree (a lovely palm-grove rises
•on the slopes).
Telde.— Tel, a hill.
Tafira. — Tqfir, dusty.
Guayadeque. — G-uaya (Spanish), grief, sorrow ; and Dekkeli
.(Arab), mound. Numerous sepulchres are found in these
mountains.
On the west coast I trace : —
Aldea. — Aldeah, a village;
And in the south : —
The now extinct volcano Mount del Tabaybel. — Tcib&l, the
beating of a drum, a rumbling noise.
Arrceife, the principal port in Lanzarote, is the Arab word
Arraseefah, terrace.
Taissa. — Taissah, unfortunate.
Aissah. — Aissah, despair, because in close proximity to a
crater now extinct.
APPENDIX.1
The Canarian Islands are said to have been known by the
Carthaginians, who in their celebrated expedition of Hanno,
1 From Major A. B. Ellis's " West Africsu Islands," London, 1885.
II. WALLACH. — The Guanchos. 165
about 250 years before the Christian era, sailed along the
African coast till they arrived within five degrees of the Equator.
According to Pliny, the Carthaginians found the islands unin-
habited, but saw in every direction the ruins of great buildings,
which had been erected by former inhabitants. In more
modern times the Canary Islands became first known to
Europeans in 1326, when a French ship was driven there in a
storm, and they were doubtless afterwards visited by other
vessels of the same nationality.
The first record, however, of any communication between
Europeans and the aborigines of the islands dates from 1385,
when Fernando Peraza, of Sevilla, sailed for the Canarian Islands,
with five ships and landed at Lanzarote, the most northerly of
the group. According to the good old manner of the time, the,
cruel invaders, without receiving any provocation, at once fired
upon the inoffensive natives who came crowding down to look
at them, killed and wounded many with their arrows, and so
terrified the remainder, that they ran away. Other expeditions
were subsequently undertaken, but it was not till 1402, at the
epoch of Jean de Bethencourt, that any descent was made upon
the Canary Islands. After several fruitless attempts in 1461,
the Spaniards endeavoured to obtain, by fraud, that foothold
which they were unable to obtain by force of arms. Of all the
Canarians, the Guanchos of Teneriffe held out the longest
against the conquerors. It was not till 1512 that they lost
their independence and were entirely subdued by the Spaniards.
In consequence of several causes, and particularly without
doubt, that the ancient language of these islanders had to give
way to Spanish, it had been generally admitted that the popula-
tion had entirely perished, exterminated by the conqueror, or
carried away by the plague of 1494.
ANTHROPOLOGICAL MISCELLANEA.
ADDRESS to the ANTHROPOLOGICAL SECTION of the BRITISH ASSOCIATION
at MANCHESTER.
By Prof. A. H. SAYCE, M.A., President of the Section.
SURPRISE has sometimes been expressed that anthropology, the
science of man, should have been the last of the sciences to come
into being. But the fact is not so strange as it seems at first sight
to be. Science originated in curiosity, and the curiosity of
primitive man, like the curiosity of a child, was first exercised upon
the objects around him. The fact that we are separate from the
world about us, and that the world about us is our own creation,
is a conviction which grows but slowly in the mind either of the
individual or of the race in general. The child says, "Charley
likes this," before he learns to say, " / like this," and in most
languages the objective case of the personal pronoun exhibits
earlier forms than the nominative.
Moreover, it is only through the relations that exist between
mankind and external nature that we can arrive at anything like a
scientific knowledge of man. Science, it must be remembered,
implies the discovery of general laws, and general laws are only
possible if we deal, not with the single individual, but with indi-
viduals when grouped together in races, tribes, or communities.
We can never take a photograph of the mind of an individual,
but we can come to know the principles that govern the actions
of bodies of men, and can employ the inductive method of science
to discover the physical and moral characteristics of tribes and
races. It is through the form of the skull, the nature of the
language, the manners and customs, or the religious ideas of a
people that we can gain a true conception of their history and
character. The thinker who wishes to carry out the precept of the
Delphian oracle and to "know himself" must study himself as
reflected in the community to which he belongs. The sum of the
sciences which deal with the relations of the community to the
external world will constitute the science of anthropology.
The field occupied by the science is a vast one, and the several
workers in it must be content to cultivate portions of it only. The
age of " admirable Crichtons " is past ; it would be impossible for a
single student to cover with equal success the whole domain of
anthropology. All that he can hope to do is to share the labour
Anthropological Miscellanea. 167
with others, and to concentrate his energies on but one or two
departments in the wide field of research. A day may come when
the work we have to perform will be accomplished, and our
successors will reap the harvest that we have sown. But mean-
while we must each keep to our own special line of investigation,
asking only that others whose studies have lain in a different
direction shall help us with the results they have obtained.
I shall therefore make no apology for confining myself on the
present occasion to those branches of anthropological study about
which I know most. It is more particularly to the study of
language, and the evidence we may derive from it as to the history
and development of mankind, that I wish to direct your attention.
It is in language that the thoughts and feelings of man are mirrored
and embodied ; it is through language that we learn the little we
know about what is passing in the minds of others. Language is
not only a means of intercommunication, it is also a record of
the ideas and beliefs, the emotions and the hopes of the past
generations of the world. In spoken language, accordingly, we
may discover the fossilised records of early humanity, as well as
the reflection of the thoughts that move the society of to-day.
What fossils are to the geologist words a.re to the comparative
philologist.
But we must be carefnl not to press the testimony of language
beyond its legitimate limits. Language is essentially a social
product, the creation of a community of men living together and
moved by the same wants and desires. It is one of the chief bonds
that bind a community together, and its existence and development
depend upon the community to which it belongs. If the com-
munity is changed by conquest or intermarriage or any other cause
the language of the community changes too. The individual who
quits one community for another has at the same time to shift his
language. The Frenchman who naturalises himself in England
must acquire English ; the negro who is born in the United States
must adopt the language that is spoken there.
Language is thus a characteristic of a community, and not of an
individual. The neglect of this fact has introduced untold mischief
not only into philology, but into ethnology as well. Race and
language have been confused together, and the fact that a man
speaks a particular language has too often been assumed, in spite
of daily experience, to prove that he_ belongs to a particular race.
When scholars had discovered that the Sanskrit of India belonged
to the same linguistic family as the European languages, they
jumped to the conclusion that the dark-skinned Hindu and the
light-haired Scandinavian must also belong to one and the same
race. Time after time have I taken up books which sought to
determine the racial affinities of savage or barbarous tribes by
means of their language. Language and race, in short, have been
used as synonymous terms.
The fallacy is still so common, still so frequently peeps out
where we should least expect it, that I think it is hardly superfluous,
168 Anthropological Miscellanea.
even now, to draw attention to it. And yet we have only to look
around us to see how contrary it is to all the facts of experience.
We Englishmen are bound together by a common language, but the
historian and the craniologist will alike tell us that the blood that
runs in our veins is derived from a very various ancestry. Kelt
and Teuton, Scandinavian and Roman have struggled together for
the mastery in our island since it first came within the horizon of
history, and in the remoter days of which history and tradition are
silent archaeology assures us that there were yet other races who
fought and mingled together. The Jews have wandered through
the world adopting the languages of the peoples among whom they
have settled, and in Transylvania they even look upon an old form
of Spanish as their sacred tongue. The Cornishman now speaks
English ; is he on that account less of a Kelt than the Welshman
or the Breton ?
Language, however, is not wholly without value to the ethnologist.
Though a common language is not a test of race, it is a test of
social contact. And social contact may mean — indeed very generally
does mean — a certain amount of intermarriage as well. The penal
laws passed against the Welsh in the fifteenth century were not suffi-
cient to prevent marriages now and then between the Welsh and
the English, and in spite of the social ostracism of the negro in the
Northern States of America intermarriages have taken place there
between the black and the white population. But in the case of
such intermarrying the racial traits of one member only of the union
are, as a general rule, preserved. The physical and moral type of
the stronger parent prevails in the end, though it is often not easy
to tell beforehand on which side the strength will lie. Sometimes,,
indeed, the physical and moral characters are not inherited together,,
the child following one of his parents in physical type while he
inherits his moral and intellectual qualities from another. But
even in such cases the types preserve a wonderful fixity, and testify
to the difficulty of changing what we call the characteristics of
race.
Herein lies one of the most obvious differences between race and
language, a difference which is of itself sufficient to show how
impossible it must be to argue from the one to the other. While
the characteristics of race seem almost indelible, language is as
fluctuating and variable as the waves of the sea. It is perpetually
changing in the months of its speakers ; nay, the individual can
even forget the language of his childhood and acquire another
which has not the remotest connection with it. A man cannot rid
himself of the characteristics of race, but his language is like his
clothing which he can strip off and change almost at will.
It seems to me that this is a fact of which only one explanation
is possible. The distinctions of race must be older than the
distinctions of language. On the monuments of Egypt, more than
four thousand years ago, the Libyans are represented with the same
fair European complexion as that of the modern Kabyles, and the
painted tomb of Rekh-ma-ra, a Theban prince who lived in the
Anthropological Miscellanea. 169
sixteenth century before our era, portrays the black -skinned negro,,
the olive-coloured Syrian, and the red-skinned Egyptian with all
the physical peculiarities that distinguish their descendants to-day.
The Egyptian language has ceased to be spoken even in its latest
Coptic form, but the wooden figure of the " Sheikh el-beled" in the
Bulaq Museum, carved b',000 years ago, reproduces the features of
many a fellah in the modern villages of the Nile. Within the
limits of history racial characteristics have undergone no change.
I see, therefore, no escape from the conclusion that the chief
distinctions of race were established long before man acquired
language. If the statement made by M. de Mortillet is true, that
the absence of the mental tubercle, or bony excrescence in which
the tongue is inserted, in a skull of the Neanderthal type found at
La Naulette, indicates an absence of the faculty of speech, one race
at least of palaeolithic man would have existed in Europe before it
had as yet invented an articulate language. Indeed, it is difficult
to believe that man has known how to speak for any very great
length of time. On the one hand, it is true, languages may remain
fixed and almost stationary for a long series of generations. Of
this the Semitic languages afford a conspicuous example. Not
only the very words, but even the very forms of grammar are still
used by the Bedouin of Central Arabia that were employed by the
Semitic Babylonians on their monuments five thousand years ago.
At that early date the Semitic family of speech already existed
with all its peculiarities, which have survived with but little
alteration up to the present day. And when it is remembered that
Old Egyptian, which comes before us as a literary and decaying
language a thousand years earlier, was probably a sister of the
parent Semitic speech, the period to which we must assign the
formation and development of the latter cannot fall much short of
ten thousand years before the Christian era. But on the other
hand there is no language which does not bear upon its face the
marks of its origin. We can still trace through the thin disguise
of subsequent modifications and growth the elements, both lexical
and grammatical, out of which language must have arisen. The
Bushman dialects still preserve the inarticulate clicks which pre-
ceded articulate sounds in expressing ideas ; behind the roots
which the philologist discovers in allied groups of words lie, plainly
visible, the imitations of natural sounds, or the instinctive utterances
of human emotion ; while the grammar of languages like Eskimaux
or the Aztec of Mexico carries us back to the first mechanism for
conveying the meaning of one speaker to another. The beginnings
of articulate language are still too transparent to allow us to refer
them to a very remote era. I once calculated that from thirty to
forty thousand years is the utmost limit that we can allow to man
as a speaking animal. In fact, the evidence that he is a drawing
animal, derived from the pictured bones and horns of the palaeolithic
age, mounts back to a much earlier epoch than the evidence that he
is a speaking animal.
Mr. Horatio Hale has lately started a very ingenious theory to
170 Anthropological Miscellanea.
account, not indeed for the origin of language in general, but for
the origin of that vast number of apparently unallied families of
speech which have existed in the world. He has come across
examples of children who have invented and used languages of
their own, refusing at the same time to speak the language they
heard around them. As the children belonged to civilised com-
munities the languages they invented did not spread beyond them-
selves, and after a time were forgotten by their own inventors. In
an uncivilised community, however, it is quite conceivable that
such a language might continue to be used by the children after they
had begun to grow up and be communicated by them to their
descendants. In this case a wholly new language would be started,
which would have no affinities with any other, and after splitting
into dialects would become the parent of numerous derived tongues.
I must confess that the evidence brought forward by Mr. Hale in
support of his theory is not quite convincing to me. It has yet to be
proved that the words used by the children to whom he refers were
not echoes of the words used by their elders. If they were, a
language that originated in them would show more signs of lexical
affinity to the older language than is the case with one family of
speech when compared with another. On the other hand, the
theory would tend to throw light on the curious fact that the
morphological divisions of language are also geographical.
By the morphology of a language I mean its structure, that is to
say, the mode in which the relations of grammar are expressed in a
sentence, and the order in which they occur. These vary con-
siderably, the chief variations being represented by the polysyn-
thetic languages of America, the isolating languages of Eastern
Asia, the postfixal languages of Central Asia, the prefixal languages
of Africa, and the inflectional languages of Europe and Western
Asia. Now it will be observed that each of these classes of
language is associated with a particular part of the globe, the
isolating languages, for example, being practically confined to
Eastern Asia, and the polysynthetic languages to America. Within
each class there are numerous families of speech between which no
relationship can be discovered beyond that of a common structure ;
they agree morphologically, but their grammar and lexicon show
no signs of connection. If we adopt Mr. Hale's theory we might
suppose that the genealogically distinct families of speech grew up
in the way he describes, while their morphological agreement
would be accounted for by the inherited tendency of their children
to run their thinking into a particular mould. The words and con-
trivances of grammar would be new, the mental framework in which
they were set would be an inheritance from former generations.
I have spoken of the inflectional languages as belonging to
Europe and Western Asia. This is true if we give a somewhat
wide extension to the term inflectional, and make it include not
•only the Indo-European group, but the Georgian and Semitic
groups as well. But, strictly speaking, the Indo-European, or
Aryan, languages have a structure of their own, which differs very
Anthropological Miscellanea. 171
markedly from that of either the Georgian or the Semitic families.
The Semitic mode of expressing the relations of grammar, by
changing the vowels within a framework of consonants differs as
much from the Aryan mode of expressing them by means of snffixes
as does the Semitic partiality for words of three consonants from
the Indo-European carelessness about the number of syllables in a
•word. Though it is quite true that the Semitic languages at times
approach the Indo-European by using suffixes to denote the forms
of grammar, while at other times the Indo-European languages may
substitute internal vowel change for external flection, nevertheless,
in general, the kind of flection employed by the two families of
speech is of a totally different character.
This difference of structure, coupled with a complete difference in
phonology, grammar, and lexion, has always seemed to me to
negative the attempts that have been made to connect the Aryan and
Semitic families of language together. The attempts have usually
been based on the old confusion between language and race ; both
Aryans and Semites belong to the white race ; therefore it was
assumed their languages must be akin. As long as it was generally
agreed that the primitive home of the Aryan languages was, like that
of the Semitic languages, the western part of Asia, the confusion was
excusable. If the earliest seats of the speakers of each were in
geographical proximity, there was some reason for believing that
languages which were alike spoken by members of the white race,
and were alike classed as inflectional, would, when properly
questioned, show signs of a common origin.
But that general agreement no longer exists. While the Asiatic
origin of the Semitic languages is beyond dispute, scholars have
of late years been coming more and more to the conclusion that
Europe was the cradle of the Aryan tongues. Their European origin
was first advocated by our countryman Dr. Latham, and was sub-
sequently defended by the eminent comparative philologist Dr.
Benfey ; but it is only within the last half-dozen years that the
theory has won its way to scientific recognition. Different lines of
research have been converging towards the same result, and in-
dicating North-eastern Europe as the starting-point of the Indo-
European languages, while the evidences invoked in favour of their
Asiatic origin have one and all broken down.
These evidences chiefly rested on the supposed superiority of
Sanskrit over the other Indo-European languages as a representative
of the parent-speech from which they were all descended. The
grammar and phonology of Sanskrit were imagined to be more
archaic, more faithful to the primitive pattern than those of its
sister-tongues. It was argued that this implied a less amount of
migration and change on the part of its speakers, a nearer residence,
in fact, to the region where the parent-speech had once been
spoken. As a comparison of the words denoting certain objects in
the Indo-European languages showed that this region must have
had a cold climate, it was placed on the slopes of the Hindu- Kush
or at the sources of the Oxus and Jaxartes.
172 Anthropological Miscellanea.
But we now know that instead of being the most faithful repre-
sentative of the parent-speech, Sanskrit is in many respects far less
so than are its sister-languages of Europe. Its vocabulary, for
instance, has been thrown into confusion by the coalescence of the
three primitive vowel sounds a, e, 6 into the single monotonous a,
a corruption which is paralleled by the coalescence of so many
vowels in modern cultivated English in the so-called " neutral " a.
Greek, or even the Lithuanian, which may still be heard to-day
from the lips of unlettered peasants, has preserved more faithfully
than the Sanskrit of India the features of the parent Aryan. If
the faithfulness of the record is any proof of the geographical
proximity of one of the Indo-European languages to their common
mother, it is in the neighbourhood of Lithuania, rather than in the
neighbourhood of India, that we ought to look for traces of the first
home of the Aryan family.
But the theory of the Asiatic origin of the Indo-European family
has not only been deprived of its main support by the dethrone-
ment of Sanskrit, and the transfer of its primacy to the languages
of Europe, what Professor Max Miiller has termed " linguistic
palaeontology " has further assisted in overthrowing the crumbling
edifice. When we find words of similar phonetic form and similar
meaning in both the Asiatic and the European branches of the
Aryan family — words, too, which it can be shown have not been
borrowed by one Indo-European language from another — we are
justified in concluding that the objects or phenomena denoted by
them were already known to the speakers of the parent language.
Four years ago a valuable contribution to the linguistic palaeon-
tology of the Aryan languages was made by Professor Otto
Schrader. For the first time the question was approached from
the present level of comparative philology, and all words were
excluded from comparison which did not satisfy the requirements
of phonetic law. The results were sadly disquieting to the be^
lievers in that idyllic picture of primitive Aryan life to which we
had so long been accustomed. Professor Schrader proved that the
speakers of the parent Aryan language must not only have lived in
a cold climate — a fact which was known already — but that they
must have lived in the stone age, with the skins of wild beasts
only to protect them from the rigours of the winter, and nothing
better than stone weapons with which to ward off the attacks of
savage animals. Their general culture was on a level with their
general surroundings. It was little better than that of the Fuegian
before he came into contact with European missionaries. The
minuteness with which the varying degrees of family relationship
were named, instead of indicating an advanced social life, as was
formerly imagined, really indicated the direct contrary. The
primitive Aryan was indeed acquainted with fire ; he could even
sew his skins together by means of needles of bone ; and possibly
could spin a little with the help of rude spindle- whorls ; but beyond
Anthropological Miscellanea. 173
this his knowledge of the arts does not seem to have extended. If
he made use of gold or meteoric iron, it was only of the unwrought
pieces which he picked up from the ground and employed as
ornaments ; of the working of metals he was entirely ignorant.
But he already practised a kind of rude agriculture, though the art
of grinding corn was as yet unknown, and crushed spelt was eaten
instead of bread ; while the community to which he belonged was
essentially that of pastoral nomads, who changed from season to
season the miserable beehive huts of wattled mud in which they
lived. They could count at least as far as a hundred, and be-
lieved in a multitude of ghosts and goblins, making offerings to the
dead, and seeing in the bright sky a potent deity.
In calling the speaker of the Aryan parent-speech the primitive
Aryan I must not be supposed to be prejudging the question as to
the particular race to which he belonged. This is a question
which has recently been handled with great ability by an Austrian
anthropologist — Dr. Karl Penka. In a remarkable book, published
at the end of last year, he endeavours to substantiate the hypo-
thesis advanced in an earlier work, and to show that the first
speakers of the Aryan languages were the fair-haired, blue-eyed,
iight-complexioned dolichocephalic race, which is still found in its
greatest purity in Scandinavia ; that it was this race which in the
neolithic period spread southwards, imposing its yoke upon subject
populations, like the Norsemen and Normans of later days, and
carrying with it the dialects which afterwards developed into the
Aryan languages ; and that, finally, it was the same race which in
the remote days of the palaeolithic age inhabited western and
central Europe, where it has left its remains in the typical skulls
of Cannstatt and Engis. Dr. Penka would ascribe to its long
residence in the semi-arctic climate of paleolithic Europe the
permanent blanching of its skin and hair — a form of albinoism
which Dr. Poesche in 1878 endeavoured to explain by the climatic
conditions of the Rokitno marshes in Russia, where he placed the
cradle of the white Aryan race.
It cannot be denied that all the probabilities are at present on
Dr. Penka's side, so far as his main contention is concerned.
Without denying that the speakers of the Aryan parent speech
may have already included slaves or wives of an alien race, it is
probable that the majority of them were of one blood. They
formed a single community, nomad it is true, and therefore less
likely to mix with foreigners, but still sufficiently a single com-
munity to speak a language the several dialects of which were so
alike as to be mutually intelligible. In the social condition in
which the speakers were, and in an age when the waste lands of
of the world were still extensive, the greater part of such a com-
munity must necessarily, we should think, have belonged to the
same race Penka has striven to show that the
animals whose bones or shells are found in the Scandinavian
kitchen-middens are just those whose names are common to the
Indo-European languages, or at all events the European section of
174 Anthropological Miscellanea.
the latter. Now, the skulls disinterred from the prehistoric burial-
places of Denmark and the southern districts of Sweden and
Norway are, for the most part, identical with the skulls still
characteristic of the Scandinavian population where they accom-
pany a fair skin and light hair and eyes. By combining these two
facts we arrive at the conclusion that the fair Scandinavian race is
the modern descendant of the race which spoke the parent
language of the primitive Aryan community, and left traces of
itself in the Scandinavian kitchen-middens. The conclusion is
supported by the testimony of history. On the one hand, we have
the testimony of classical writers that the Aryan-speaking Kelts of
the Christian era were not the dark, small-limbed population which
now occupies the larger part of France, but men of large stature,
with the blue eyes and fair hair of their Teutonic brethren ; while
the ideal specimens of humanity conceived of by the aristocratic
art of Italy and Greece were the golden-haired Apollo and the
blue-eyed Athene. On the other hand, it was from Scandinavia
that in later times other bands of warriors poured forth, who made
their way into the countries of the Mediterranean, and even Asia,
and established themselves as conquering aristocracies in the
midst of subject populations. The Kelts succeeded in reaching
Asia Minor, the Scando-German hordes overthrew the Roman
empire, the Northmen established themselves from Russia on the
east to Iceland and Greenland on the west, and the Normans made
Sicily their own long before the days of the German Frederick.
The only point in which the later historical irruptions of the
Scandinavian peoples differed from their prehistoric ones was, that
while the later irruptions were made by sea, the older were made
by land. The sail was unknown to the tribes of the north until
the age of their intercourse with the Romans, from whom they
borrowed both the conception and the name of the sagulum, or
"sail." The course of their migrations must have followed the
valleys of the great rivers.
If southern Scandinavia is thus to be regarded as the original
home of the Aryan languages, and the race which first spoke those
languages, and which we may therefore call Aryan, is to be iden-
tified with the Scandinavian type, it follows that the further south
and east we advance from this primary starting-point the less pure
will the type become. It will be in the neighbourhood of that
starting-point and in northern Europe that we shall expect to find
the largest number of undiluted Aryan languages and the purest
examples of the Aryan breed. In Greece and Armenia, in Persia
and India we must look for mixture and decay. And such indeed
is the fact. Mr. Wharton has found, by a careful analysis of the
Greek lexicon, that out of 2,740 primary words only 1,580 can be
referred with any probability to an Indo-European origin, while
the prevailing racial type in ancient as in modern Greece was dis-
tinctly non-Aryan. Indeed, I am inclined to believe that the
culture revealed by the excavations at Mykenae, Tiryns, and on
other prehistoric Greek sites belonged not to a Hellenic but to a
Anthropological Miscellanea. 175-
pre-Hellenic population, and that the Aryan Greeks first made
their appearance in Hellas at the epoch of what later tradition
called the Dorian immigration. It was to the north that Greek
legends pointed as the primaeval home of the Hellenic race and
civilisation, and Dodona ever continued to be revered as the oldest
sanctuary of the Hellenic world. In India it is notorious that the
Aryan-speaking Hindus entered the country from the north-west,,
and failed to spread far into the burning plains of the south. The
date of their invasion is uncertain, but for myself I have grave
doubts whether it was earlier than the eighth or even the seventh
century B.C. At all events it was not until after the seventh cen-
tury B.C., as we now know from the express testimony of the
cuneiform inscriptions of Van, that the Aryan-speaking Armenians
entered the land which now bears their name, and recent philo-
logical researches have confirmed the assertion of Greek writers
that the Armenians were a colony of the Phrygians who had them-
selves emigrated from Thrace. Up to the closing days of the
Assyrian empire the monuments make it clear that no Aryans had
as yet settled between the Kurdish ranges on the east and the
Halys on the west.
But while the extension into Asia of what I will now, following
Penka's example, call the Aryan race, seems to be referred to a
comparatively recent period, there is a curious fact which goes to
show that the same, or a closely, allied, race once spread along the
northern coast of Africa. On Egyptian monuments, which date
back to the sixteenth century before our era, the Libyan tribes of
this district are described and depicted as white. Their des-
cendants are still to be found in the mountainous parts of fhe
coast, those of Algeria being commonly known under the name of
Kabyles. I saw a good deal of them last winter, and must confess
to being greatly .struck by their appearance. I had known, ef
course, that they belonged to the white race and were characterised
by blue eyes and light hair, but I was not prepared to find that
their complexion was of that transparent whiteness which freckles
readily and is supposed to mark the so-called red Kelt. They are
dolichocephalic, and as their skulls agree with those discovered in
the prehistoric cromlechs of Boknia and other places it is plain
that their distinctive features are not due, as was formerly sup-
posed, to intermixture with the Vandals.
The cromlechs in which they once buried their dead are quite as
remarkable as their physical characteristics. Cromlechs of a similar
shape are found extending through Spain and western France to
the northern portion of the British Isles. Since dolichocephalic
skulls occur in connection with them,while the physical character-
istics of the modern Kabyle resemble so strikingly those of a par-
ticular portion of the modern Irish population, we seem driven to
infer that the Kabyle and the " red Kelt " are alike fragments of a
race that once spread from Scotland and Ireland to the northern
coast of Africa and interred its dead in chambers formed of five
large blocks of stone. Though the custom of burying in these
176 Anthropological Miscellanea.
cromlechs continued into the bronze age, the majority of them, go
back to the neolithic period.
Are we to suppose, then, that one stream of Aryan immigrants,
after making its way to the west, wandered along the western
coast of Europe, and eventually crossed the Straits of Gibraltar
and took possession of Africa ? Or are we to believe that the
Aryan race of Southern Scandinavia was allied in blood, though
not in language, with a population which inhabited the extreme
west of Europe, and had, it may be, at the close of the glacial
epoch, passed over to the neighbouring mountains of Africa ? It
must be remembered that the Kabyle complexion is not precisely
the same as that of the Scandinavian. Both are white, but the
skin of the one has a semi-transparent appearance, while the white-
ness of the other may be described as mealy. It will be worth
while to determine whether between the dolichocephalism of the
Kabyle and the dolichocephalism of the Scandinavian any dis-
tinction can be drawn.
The question has a bearing on the origin of a part of our own popu-
lation. I have already compared the Kabyle with the " red Kelt."
But the expression "red Kelt," like most popular expressions, is
by no means exact. It confuses in one two distinct types. The
large-limbed, red-haired Highlander, who calls to mind the descrip-
tion given of the Kelts by the Latin historians, stands in marked
contrast to the small-limbed, light-complexioned Kelt of certain
districts in Ireland, whose skin is freckled rather than burnt red
by the sun. The determination of the several racial elements in
these islands is particularly difficult on account of the intermixture
of population, and nowhere is the difficulty greater than in the
case of the Keltic portion of the community. Long before the
Roman conquest the intrusive Aryan Kelt had been intermarrying
with the older inhabitants of the country, who doubtless belonged
to more than one race, the result being that the so-called Keltic
race is an amalgamation of races differing physiologically but
dominated by a common moral and intellectual character — the
consequence of subjection for a long series of generations to the
same conditions of life. It has become a commonplace of ethno-
logy that the so-called Keltic race includes not only the fair com-
plexioned Aryan Kelt, but also the "black Kelt" or Iberian with
dark skin, black hair and eyes, and small limbs. The subject,
however, is much more complex than this simple division would
imply. We have seen that under the " red Kelt " are included
two distinct varieties ; the " black Kelt " is equally irreducible to
a single type, while the fact that two types of "red " and " black "
recur in the same family — my own, for example — not only indi-
cates their long-continued intermixture, but suggests the existence
of intermediate varieties. The limitations and relations of dolicho-
cephalism and brachycephalism within the race also need further
investigation. I hope that this meeting, held as it is on the
borders of what is still a distinctively Keltic country, may help
to settle these and similar problems.
Anthropological Miscellanea. 177
Meanwhile I will conclude this address, which has already
extended to an inordinate length, by directing your attention to
two lines of evidence which have an important bearing on the
question of the extent to which the Keltic element enters into the
existing British population. A few years ago it was the fashion
to assert that the English people were mainly Teutonic in origin,
and that the older British population had been exterminated in the
protracted struggle it carried on with the heathen hordes of Atglo-
Saxon invaders. The statement in the " Saxon Chronicle " was
quoted that the garrison of Anderida, or Pevensey, when captured
by the Saxons in A.D. 491, was all put to the sword. But it is
obvious that the fact would not have been singled out for special
mention had it not been exceptional, while it is equally obvious
that invaders who came by sea can hardly have brought their
wives and children with them, and must have sought for both
wives and slaves in the natives of the island. Mr. Coote, in his
" Romans of Britain," and Mr. Seebohm, in his " English Village
Community," have pointed out the continuity of laws and
customs and territorial rights between the Roman and the Saxon
eras, presupposing a continuity of population, and anthropologists
have insisted that the survival of early racial types in all parts of
the country cannot be accounted for by the settlement of the
Bretons who followed William the Conqueror, or of the Welsh
who came into England when the penal laws against them were
repealed by Henry VIII. But the advocates of the theory of
extermination had always one argument which seemed to them
unanswerable, and which indeed was the origin of their theory.
The language of the Anglo-Saxons contains scarcely any words
borrowed from Keltic. Such a fact was held to be inexplicable
except on the hypothesis that the speakers of the Keltic dialects
were all exterminated before any intercourse was possible between
them and the invading Teuton.
But I think I can show that the fact admits of quite another
explanation. Roman Britain was in the condition of Roman
Gaul ; it was a Roman province, so thoroughly Romanised indeed
that before the end of the first century, according to Tacitus
("Agric.," 18-21), even the inhabitants of North Wales had
adopted the Roman dress and the Roman habits of luxury. After
four centuries of Roman domination it is not likely under these
circumstances that the dialects of the British tribes would have
resisted the encroachment of the Latin language any more than
did the dialects of Gaul. The language, not only of government
and law, but also of trade and military service, was Latin, while
the slaves and servants who cultivated the soil were bound to
understand the language of their masters. Moreover Britain was
a military colony ; the natives were drafted into the army, and
there perforce had to speak Latin. If Latin had not been the
language of the country at the time the Romans left it, the fact
would have been little short of a miracle.
That it was so is certified by more than one piece of» evidence.
VOL. XVII. N
178 Anthropological Miscellanea.
The inscriptions which have survived from the period of the
Roman occupation are numerous ; with the exception of three or
four Greek ones, they are all in Latin. Of a Keltic language or
dialect there is no trace. When the Romans had departed, and
the inhabitants of Wales and Cornwall had been cut off from
intercourse with the civilised world, Latin was still the ordinary
language of the mortuary texts. It is only gradually that Keltic
oghams take their place by the side of the Roman characters.
When St. Patrick writes a letter to the Welsh prince of Cardigan-
shire, addressed not only to him but to his people as well, it is in
the Latin language ; when St. Grermanus crosses into Britain to
settle a theological controversy, and leads the people to victory
against the Saxon invader, he has no difficulty in being under-
stood ; and the proper names of British leaders continue to be
Roman long after the departure of the Roman legions. What
clinches the matter, however, is the positive statement of Gildas,
the British writer, the solitary witness who has survived to us
from the dark period of heathen invasion. He asserts that the
ships called " keels " by the Saxons were called longce naves " in
our language" ("nostra lingua").-1 In the middle of the sixth
century, therefore, Latin was still the language of the Kelt south
of the Roman Wall. Such being the case it is not Keltic but
Latin words that we must expect to have been borrowed by Anglo-
Saxon, if the British population, instead of being exterminated,
lived under and by the side of their Teutonic invaders. Now
these borrowed Latin words exist in plenty. They have come not
only from the speech of the towns, but also from the speech of the
country, proving that the country population must have used
Latin like the inhabitants of the towns. In an interesting little
book by Professor Earle on the Anglo-Saxon names of plants a
list is given of the names of trees and vegetables that have been
taken from a Latin source. Where the tree or the vegetable was
one with which the invaders had not been acquainted in their
original home, the name they gave to it was a Latin one, like the
cherry or cerasus, the box or buxus, the fennel or feniculum, the
mallow or malva, the poppy or papaver, the radish or radix. Such
names they could have heard only from the serfs who tilled the
ground for their new lords, not from the traders and soldiers of
the cities. It is much the same when we turn to the names
of agricultural implements which imply a higher order of culture
than the simple plough or mattock, the name of which last,
however, is itself of Keltic origin. Thus the coulter is the Latin
culter, the sickle is the Latin secula. That other agricultural imple-
ments bore Teutonic names proves merely that the Saxons and
Angles were already acquainted with them before they had quitted
their primitive seats.
The philological argument has thus been cut away from under
the feet of the advocates of the theory of extermination, and
1 " Hist.," p. 23.
Anthropological Miscellanea. 179
shown to tell precisely the contrary tale. It has disappeared like
the philological argument by which the theory of the origin of
the Aryans in Asia was once supposed to be supported. But
there still remains one difficulty in our path.
This is the fact that the languages spoken in Wales, and till
recently in Cornwall, are Keltic and not Latin. If Latin had
been the language of the Keltic population of southern Britain
when the Romans left the island, how is it that where the Keltic
population still retains a language of its own that language is Keltic ?
The answer to this question is to be found in history and tradition.
Up to the sixth century the Teutonic invaders gained slowly
but steadily upon the resisting Britons. They forced their way
to the frontiers of what is now Wales, and there their further
course was checked. The period when this took place is the
period when Welsh literature first begins. But it begins, not
in Wales, but in Strathclyde or South-western Scotland, to the
north of the Roman Wall. Its first records relate to battles that
took place in the neighbourhood of Carlisle. From thence its
bards and heroes moved southwards into North Wales. Tradition
commemorated the event as the arrival in Wales of " Cunedda's
men." The sons of Cunedda founded the lines of princes who
subsequently ruled in Wales, and the old genealogies mark the
event by suddenly substituting princes with Welsh names for
princes with Latin names. The rude Keltic tribes of Strathclyde
came to the assistance of their more cultured brethren in the
south, checking the further progress of the foreigner and imposing
their domination and language upon the older population of the
country. It is probable that the disappearance of Latin was
further aided not only by the destruction of the cities and the
increasing barbarism of the people, but also by the settlement of
Irish colonies, more especially in South Wales. At all events the
ruin of cities like Caerleon and Caerwent must be ascribed to Irish
marauders. We can now explain why it is not only that Wales
speaks Welsh and not Latin, but also why a part of the country,
which, according to Professor Rhys, was mostly peopled by Gaelic
tribes before the Roman conquest, speaks Cymric and not Gaelic.
As for Cornish its affinities are with Breton, and since history
knows of frequent intercourse between Cornwall and Brittany in
the age that followed the departure of the Romans we may see in
the Cornish dialect the traces of Breton influence.
The arrival of " Cunedda's men " and the re-Keltisation of
Wales lead me to the second line of evidence to which I have
alluded above. The bearing of the costume of a people upon
their ethnography is a matter which has been much neglected.
But there are few things about which a population — more especially
in an early stage of society — is so conservative as in the matter of
dress. When we find the Egyptian sculptor representing the
Hittites of the warm plains of Palestine clad in the snow-shoes of
the mountaineer we are justified in concluding that they must
have descended from the ranges of the Taurus, where the bulk of
180 Anthropological Miscellanea.
their brethren continued to live, just as the similar shoes with
turned-up ends which the Turks have introduced among the upper
classes of Syria, Egypt, and northern Africa point to the northern
origin of the Turks themselves. Such shoes are utterly unsuited
for walking in over a country covered with grass, brushwood, or
even stones ; they are on the contrary admirably adapted for walk-
ing on snow.
Now the dress of Keltic Gaul and of southern Britain also when
the Romans first became acquainted with it was the same as the
dress which " linguistic palaeontology " teaches us had been worn
by the primitive Aryans in their first home. One of its chief con-
stituents were the braccw, or trousers, which accordingly became
to the Roman the symbol of the barbarian. We learn, however,
from sculptures and other works of art that before the retirement of
the Romans from the northern part of Europe they had adopted this
article of clothing, at all events during the winter months. That
the natives of southern Britain continued to wear it after their
separation from Rome is clear from a statement of Gildas ("Hist.,"
19) in which he refers in no flattering terms to the kilt of the
Pict and the Scot. Yet from within a century after the time of
Gildas there are indications that the northern kilt which he regards
as so strange and curious had become the common garb of Wales.
When we come down to the twelfth century we find that it is the
national costume. Giraldus Cambrensis gives us a description of
the Welsh dress in his own time, from which we learn that it con-
sisted simply of a tunic and plaid. It was not until the age of the
Tudors, according to Lluyd, the Welsh historian of the reign of
Elizabeth, that the Welsh exchanged their own for the English
dress.1 The Welsh who served in the army of Edward II at
Bannockburn were remarked even by the Lowland Scotch for the
scantiness of their attire.2 and we have evidence that it was the
same a century later.3 If we turn to Ireland we find that in the
days of Spenser, and later, the national costume of the Irish was
the same as that of the Welsh and the Highland Scotch. The
knee-breeches and sword-coat which characterise the typical Irish-
man in the comic papers are survivals of the dress worn by the
English at the time when it was adopted in Ireland.
The Highland dress, therefore, was once worn not only in the
Scotch Highlands and in Ireland, but also in Wales. It cha-
racterised the Keltic parts of Britain with the exception of
Cornwall and Devonshire. Yet we have seen that up to the middle
of the sixth century, at the period when Latin was still the
language of the fellow-countrymen of Gildas, and when" Cunedda's
men " had not as yet imposed their domination upon Wales, the
old Keltic dress with trousers must have been the one in common
use. Now we can easily understand how a dress of the kind could
1 "Tho Breviary of Brytaine," Twyne's translation, page 35 (eel. 1573).
2 Barbour's " Bruce," ix, pages 600-603.
3 See Jones' " History of the County of Brecknock, vol. i, page 283 ; cc/»t/>.
" Archseologia Cambrensis," 5th series, No. 7 (1885), page 227.
Anthropological Miscdlanea. 181
have been replaced by the kilt in warm countries like Italy and
Greece ; what is not easily conceivable is that such a dress could
have been replaced by the kilt in the cold regions of the north. In
warm climates a lighter form of clothing is readily adopted ; in
cold climates the converse is the case.
I see, consequently, but one solution of the problem before us.
On the one hand, there was the distinctive Keltic dress of the
Roman age, which was the same as the dress of the primitive
Aryan, and was worn alike by the Kelts of Gaul and Britain and
the Teutons of Germany ; on the other hand, there was the scantier
and colder dress which originally characterised the coldest part of
Britain, and subsequently mediaeval Wales also. Must we not
infer, in the first place, that the aboriginal population of Caledonia
and Ireland was not Keltic — or at least not Aryan Keltic — and,
secondly, that the dominant class in Wales after the sixth century
came from that northern portion of the island where the kilt was
worn ? Both inferences, at all events, agree with the conclusions
which ethnologists and historians have arrived at upon other
grounds.
Perhaps what I have been saying will show that even a subject
like the history of dress will yield more results to ethnological
study than is usually supposed. It will be another illustration of
the fact that the student of humanity cannot afford to neglect any
department of research which has to do wibh the life of man,
however widely removed it may seem to be from science and
scientific methods of enquiry. " Homo sum ; humani nihil a me
alienum pnto."
ON the NOTES sounded by MR. GALTON'S WHISTLES for testing the
limit of AUDIBILITY of SOUND.
By W. N. SHAW, Esq., M.A.
IN order to test the limit of audibility of sound, an adjustable
whistle is made by the Cambridge Scientific Instrument Company
on the plan designed by Mr. Galton some 10 years ago. It is a
whistle with a very narrow pipe ; the length of the pipe can be
adjusted by means of a piston, a wire '73 mm. in diameter, sliding
in the pipe. This sliding wire carries a disc, and the frame to
which the whistle is attached and in which the outer end of the
wire piston rests, carries a parallel disc. As the piston is pushed
in, these two discs approach each other. Their distance apart can
be measured by inserting a graduated wedge, and gives at once the
length of the pipe of the whistle. The whistle is blown by com-
pressing a small india-rubber bladder attached to it. The apparatus
is used to determine the pitch of the highest note audible by a
particular person in the following manner. The piston is adjusted
till the vibration produced by the whistle is just inaudible ; the
distance between the discs is then read, giving a length of whistle
N 2
182 Anthropological Miscellanea.
pipe I. From this observation, the pitch of the corresponding
note can be calculated thus : — disregarding all corrections, the wave
length of the note X in free air should be 4 I ; and if v be the
velocity of sound in air (at the temperature of observation) and
N the vibration number or pitch of the note —
The corrections which have been disregarded in assuming this
simple formula arise from the following considerations : —
(1.) The velocity of sound in the narrow pipe of the whistle is
not the same as in free air, so that v cannot fairly be substituted
from the known value of the velocity of sound in air. The correc-
tion on this account cannot be accurately arrived at, for the change
in the velocity, while it increases with a diminishing diameter of
pipe is less for high notes than for low ones, and the relation
between the value of the correction and the pitch — a matter of
great importance when the pitch is very high — is not well under-
stood (see Wiillner " Experimental- Physik," vol. 1, p. 799).
(2.) Four times the measured length of an ordinary organ pipe
is not found to correspond to the true wave length of the note
produced : the formula in such cases is more accurately —
- _
~ 4 (I + 3)'
where x is to be regarded as a correction to the observed length of
pipe.
This gives satisfactory results with organ pipes. The value of x
for a pipe with a width of 40 mm. and a length about seven
times as great, was determined by Wertheim to be 1'5 times the
diameter, and the correction in other cases roughly corresponded.
I know of no observations with very narrow pipes and high notes
from which the corresponding correction can be drawn.
This correction to the length of the pipe may moreover be
affected by the pressure of the air by which the whistle is blown.
The whistles require a pressure of some 20 cm. of water to make
them speak, so that there is a possibility of variation much
greater than that which occurs with an ordinary organ pipe re-
quiring a very small air-pressure. The effect of increasing the
pressure, as will be shewn below, is to raise the pitch of the note,
or, in other words, to diminish the value of the correction x.
The acoustical properties of such whistles seemed, therefore, to
require some independent investigation ; and, at the request of
Mr. H. Darwin, I arranged an experimental investigation of three
whistles, which was carried out for me by Mr. F. M. Turner of
Trinity College. What was required was some method of deter-
mining the pitch of the note of the whistle which should be
independent of the calculation I have discussed. For this purpose
it appeared that an experimental method suggested by Lord Ray-
Anthropological Miscellanea. 183
leigh (" Phil. Mag." [5], vii, p. 153) would be particularly suitable.
The method depends upon, the behaviour of a " sensitive flame,"
when a high note is sounded. The coal-gas flame issuing from a
pin-hole burner becomes " sensitive " if the gas is supplied at a
sufficiently high pressure (say 10 inches of water, the ordinary gas
supply pressure being about 1 inch), so that a flame about 18 inches
long is obtained just on the point of flaring. A high note, such as
those caused by rattling a bunch of keys, or a hiss, makes the flame
flare, and it continues to flare as long as the note sounds, recovering
its steadiness when the sound ceases.
If a continuous high note is made by blowing a whistle or "bird-
call " by means of a weighted gas bag, and at some distance from
the whistle a plane vertical surface is erected, so that the waves
of sound are reflected normally, the interference of the reflected
waves with the subsequent incident waves produces a series of
nodes with intervening loops in the space between the whistle
and the wall. Lord Rayleigh has shewn that if the sensitive
flame is moved into various positions in this space, the whistle
will flare everywhere except at the nodes, and there the flame
will be, comparatively speaking, undisturbed. The position of
the nodes can therefore be identified by means of the sensitive
flame, and, as the distance between consecutive nodes is half a
wave-length, the wave-length of the note in free air is easily
deduced from observation of the internodal distance ; if X be the
wave-length so obtained, N" the vibration frequency of the note,
and v the velocity of sound, which may be quite safely assumed
v
as known, N" = -r- , and no correction is required.
A number of observations were taken by Mr. Turner on this
plan with three whistles, denoted A, B, and G respectively, the
<^as for the sensitive flame was supplied from a gas-holder that
could be loaded at pleasure, and a gas-bag furnished air to the
whistles. A plate of glass served as a reflecting wall. The pres-
sures of the air and gas were measured by means of \J tubes con-
taining water.
This method proved to be applicable to notes with a pipe-
length between 3 mm. and 7'6 mm. The practical reasons against
its use for other notes are as follows : — A particular flame is
not sensitive for all high notes within the range of a whistle at
the same time, but the gas pressure can always be adjusted and
a flame obtained which flares when a given note is blown on
the whistle, within the range of 9 mm. pipe length to half
mm. or less, far beyond the limit of audibility.1 My own ears
cannot appreciate a note with a pipe-length less than 3' 7 mm. Mr.
1 Under favourable conditions the behaviour of the sensitive flame when the
whistle is blown as in actual practice, by squeezing the india-rubber bladder, is
very striking. As the length of the pipe is gradually shortened, the flame gives
a short flare for each puff of air until the piston is pushed quite home, when no
flare occurs. It would, however, not be safe to make any inference as to the/
pitcli of the note for lengths less than half a milliineti-e.
184
Anthropological Miscellanea,
Turner's limit is 3'8, so that the flame responds to continuous
sounds at least three octaves above the highest sounds commonly
audible. But it is not an easy matter to get the reflexion nodes
well marked as points of minimum flaring ; the pressure of the
gas requires careful adjustment in any case, and we were unable
with any adjustment to get nodes for pipe lengths greater than
7'6 mm. or less than 3 mm. This range embraces notes from
8,000 to 21,000 complete vibrations per second. I cannot safely
assign any reason for our inability to get nodes for higher pitches ; it
may be due to the comparatively large area of the section of the
flame at its sensitive part, or to the continuous effect of disturbing
vibrations which, being inaudible, cannot otherwise be perceived; but
even as the case stands we have measured the nodal distances of
notes a major third higher than anything that either of ns could
hear, and it is possible that with other flames a higher limit may
be reached. For wave-lengths longer than 34 mm. the flame
had to be made so sensitive that it was unstable and no satisfac-
tory observations could be made.
In each determination of an internodal distance the positions of
a large number of points of minimum flaring at different distances
from the reflecting wall were read many times over and a mean
result deduced.
The following specimen will exemplify the agreement between the
observations, and show how the mean value is deduced.
WHISTLE A.
Length of whistle 7'1 mm.
Pressure of air blowing the whistle = 26'4 cm. of water.
No. of
the node.
Observations of distance of nodes from the
wall in mm.
Mean
distance.
Calculated
half wave-
length.
1
18-2
18-4 18-2
18-3
18-3
2
33-1
34 -0 32 -7
34-8
33-6
16-8
3
48-0
50-0 51-7
49-0
49-7
16-6
4
68-5
66-0 68-0
64-5 65-1
66-4
16-6
5
83-2
81-0 82-2
83-8
82-5
16-5
6
101-0
99-3
100-2
16-7
7
116-3
119 -4 118 -0
117-9
16-6
In this and some other cases the length calculated from the first
node is far greater than that from any of the others. This may
be due to the heating effect of the flame, which cannot well be
allowed for. We thought better therefore to leave out the first
position in all cases. The mean result of this series then will be — •
Half wave-length =16'63 mm.
All the mean results obtained are given in the following
table : —
Anthropological Miscellanea.
TABLE OF RESULTS.
185
Whistle
used.
Pressure of air in
cm. of water.
Length of whistle
in mm.
Quarter wave-length,
in free air in mm.
A
16-7
3-0
3-96
16-9
3-3
4-15
.
27 5
5-0
6-65
"
26-0
6-53
19-3
7'40
£
32-8
6-30
21-4
7-05
C
29-1
6-32
22-8
6-50
A
26-4
7-1
8-32
S
24-5
8-22
15 9
8-77
A
27-0
7'!6
8-55
It appears from these results (1) that the different whistles give
practically the same note at the same pressure ; (2) That the note
sounded varies considerably with the pressure, the values at 5 mm.
differing by about a " whole tone " for a variation of pressure
between 19'3 and 32-8 cm. of water ; (3) That the true wave-length
is greater than four times the length of the pipe. It is difficult to
suggest a general law which will meet the case, in consequence of
the variation of the note with the pressure. The pressure of the
air in actual practice with the whistle is obtained by squeezing the
little india-rubber bladder attached to the whistle. The pressure
is variable, but the ear recognises only one note. This may be
connected with a fact that we observed in connection with them,
namely, that the whistles required a certain definite pressure,
different for each, in order to produce a clear note, if the pressure
was not correct the sound produced might be called a hiss, yet it
gave good nodes. It appears that, speaking very roughly, the
correction to be applied to the observed length of pipe in order to
obtain the the true quarter wave-length for the higher pressures
does not differ much from 1 mm., and is therefore nearly equal to
1'5 X diameter of pipe, the correction found by Wertheim to be
applicable in the case of organ pipes of corresponding shape.
NOTE on the DIEYERIE TRIBE of SOUTH AUSTRALIA.
By Mr. SAMUEL GASON. (Communicated by J. G. FRAZER, M.A.)
Mr. Frazer writes as follows : —
I enclose a copy of a letter received by me from Mr. Samuel
Gason in reply to some enquiries which I had addressed to him
concerning the Dieyerie tribe of aborigines, South Australia. Mr.
Gason, in the course of his duties as police trooper, has been for
many years familiar with the tribe in question, whose manners and
186 Anthropological Miscellanea.
customs he has described in a very valuable little work, included in
the volume, " Native Tribes of South Australia." The following
letter supplements on some important points the information con-
tained in that work. In particular it shows that the Dieyerie
belongs to that rare class of cases, intermediate between mother
kin and father kin, where the sons take their totem from the father
and the daughters from the mother.
This is not, as I hope to point out elsewhere, to be confounded
with the sex totem, of which examples are to be found in Australia,
but (so far as I know) nowhere else. In view of Mr. Gasoii's letter
the statement of Mr. Howitt ("Journ. Anthrop. Inst.," XIII, p. 457)
that descent in the Dieyerie tribe is uterine, needs correction.
The following is Mr. Gason's letter, dated from Beltana, South
Australia, March 6th, 1887 :—
I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your letter, and to send the
following remarks in reply to your inquiries, re branches of the
aborigine Dieyerie tribe of South Australia.
1st. As to whether children of the father inherit the father's
branch or class name, I reply yes, the sons take the father's class,
the daughters the mother's class, e.g., if a dog (being the man)
marries a rat (being the woman) the sons of the issue would be
dogs, the daughters of the issue would be rats.
2ndly. As to whether the father is the head of the family, I say
most certainly.
3rdly. As to whether the father eats of his children at the burial
ceremony, my reply is that the father does not eat of his offspring ;
the reason assigned is that, being the head of the family, he has
sufficient command, and being a man (not weak like a woman) he
can resist the deep grief occasioned by the loss of his child, and not
be perpetually crying, causing a nuisance to the camp and tribe ;
whereas, a mother and other female relatives are compelled to eat of
their offspring and dear departed relatives, for by so doing, they
are supposed to have a presence of their departed in their liver (they
feel from their liver, not from their heart as we do). The man will
eat of his brother, his uncle, his cousin, or dear friend, but not of
his father, nor his grandfather, nor his offspring.
4thly. The members of each class-name do not pay any par-
ticular respect to their branch, further than each class thinks that
they are of the oldest families. They eat the animals or plants of
which they derive their class names.
Sthly. On all deaths, either from natural causes or otherwise, an
inquiry or inquest is held immediately before burial, and in case of
the departed being a person of note or influence, the result of the
inquiry is a verdict of murder against some person or persons of the
same tribe or of the neighbouring tribe, even if the deceased died
from natural causes, they having a superstitious belief that any man
who is a Koonkie (doctor) has the power to cause any person's death
by sickness at any distance by the use of a human bone, carried out
by a superstitious charm.
Anthropological Miscellanea. 187
FOURTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY —
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, WASHINGTON, 1886.
THE Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology is not
quite as large as its predecessors, neither is it, perhaps, quite as
full of interest, although the papers are of high scientific value,
from the systematic manner in which the work of exploration has
been carried out, and the large amount of material collected and
classified.
The recorded field-work consists of explorations among the
mounds of the Mississippi Valley, in the course of which four
thousand one hundred specimens were added to the National
Museum, including a large collection of pottery, skulls, stone,
copper, and shell implements and ornaments, also some articles
shewing contact with Europeans, such as hammered iron, bracelets,
brooches, and crosses of silver, and a hog's tooth. The full report
of these explorations will be of great utility to future workers in
this extensive field ; but the explorations carried on by Mr. James
Stevenson, among the cliff dwellings in the canons of North
Mexico, are of still greater interest, for these cliff dwellings are an
extraordinary development of the primitive cave dwellings of
early man, consisting of huge chambers tunnelled into the solid
rock, in some cases 300 feet above the bed of the canon. Some of
these village chambers are of enormous dimensions, one being
described as 1,500 feet from side to side, and about half that space
from the back to the edge of the cliff ; calculated to have been the
home of between a thousand and fifteen hundred persons. The
floor of this cave, probably a natural cavity enlarged, was studded
with dwellings built of square stones laid in mortar, and houses
three stories high are found, filling up spaces between rocky pro-
jections, whilst frequently houses have been built jutting out
from the cliff, reminding one of swallows' nests on a large scale.
The most singular part of these extraordinary dwellings is, that
they appear to have been constructed entirely by users of stone
implements ; but who, judging from their works, must have
attained to a civilisation superior to that of the neolithic peoples
of Europe, for they had much artistic skill, the dwellings being
painted in various colours, generally in bands, but also in a pattern
resembling the Greek fret, and with many curious designs of un-
known meaning introduced. They seem, also, to have cultivated
Indian corn, and to have made garments and matting from the
fibre of the Yucca ; they also wore finely woven sandals of peculiar
pattern, and skeletons have been found, buried in a sitting posture,
with the flesh and skin dried to the hardness of stone.
Mr. Frank Gushing continues his interesting researches among
the Zunis, and Mr. Victor Mindeleff is prosecuting the same work
among the Moki, and we may hope soon to see the result of their
investigations.
Good work has also been done in classifying the languages of
188 Anthropological Miscellanea.
many of the Indian tribes, by the Rev. Owen Dorsey, Mrs.
Erminie Smith, and others, and it is probable that through the
names of animals, trees, &c., we may, in time, obtain a knowledge
of the migrations and affinities of the various tribes.
The most important paper in the present volume is that by
Colonel Garrick Mallery, U.S.A., on the Pictographs of the North
American Indians, which is very profusely illustrated, and includes
rock sculptures as well as paintings. It is of especial interest to
find that a certain geographical area can be assigned to each form
of descriptive writing, or hieroglyphs, as they may be called.
Colonel Mallery supposes that American pictographs are : " 1st.
Mnemonic, embracing order of songs, traditions, treaties, war, and
time. 2nd. Notifications, comprising notice of departure and
direction, of condition, warning and guidance, geographic features,
claim or demand, messages and communications, and record of
expeditions. 3rd. Totemic : this embraces tribal, gentile, clan, and
personal designations, insignia and tokens of authority, personal
names, property marks, status of individuals, and signs of par-
ticular achievements. 4th. Religious, comprising mythic per-
sonages, shamanism, dances and ceremonies, mortuary practices,
grave posts, charms and fetiches. 5th. Customs and habits. 6th.
Tribal history. 7th. Biographic, in which are examples giving
continuous record of events in a life, and other cases of particular
exploits and occurrences." From this it will be seen that the
pictographs of a tribe are, in fact, the history of that tribe, or
rather of particular events relating to the chiefs of the tribe,
although in some cases they have a symbolic, or religious meaning.
The next paper is on the " Pottery of the Ancient Pueblos," by
William H. Holmes, followed by another on the " Origin and
Development of Form and Ornament in Ceramic Art," by the
same author. In these we are introduced to many quaint and
curious forms in pottery, and to some very beautiful ornamental
designs, showing that the ancient Americans had attained to greater
perfection in this art than even the early Greeks and Etruscans,
although the designs are chiefly geometrical.
The concluding paper in this volume is one by Mr. Frank Gushing
on " A Study of Pueblo Pottery, as illustrative of Zuni Culture
Growth," which treats of the evolution of form both in architecture
and pottery, through necessity or convenience. With regard to
architecture, Mr. Gushing supposes the rectangular form to have
been developed from the circular, which was the older, originating
from the tent ; whilst he believes pottery to have been anticipated
by basketry.
These papers should be studied carefully by those who are
interested in the ancient pottery of Europe, for they would find in
them many suggestions for future investigations.
A. W. BUCKLAND.
THE LOWER CONGO
To illustrate MT R.C.Phillips's paper
EngishMiles
THE JOUENAL
OF THE
ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE
OF
GEEAT BEITAIN AND IEELAND.
JUNE 28iH, 1887.
FRANCIS GALTON, Esq., F.E.S., President, in the Chair.
The Minutes of the last meeting were read and signed.
The election of WILLIAM GOWLAND, Esq., F.C.S., A.E.S.M.,
of the Imperial Mint, Osaka, Japan, was announced.
The following presents were announced, and thanks voted to
the respective donors : —
FOR THE LIBRARY.
From the SECRETARY-GENERAL OP THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS OP
ANTHROPOLOGY AND PRE-HISTORIC ARCHEOLOGY. — Compte-rendu
de la huitieme Session, Budapest, 1876. Second Volume,
Parts 1, 2.
From the INSTITUTION. — Journal of the Royal United Service Insti-
tution. No. 139.
From the SOCIETY. — Journal of the Society of Arts. Nos. 1804,
1805.
Proceedings of the Royal Society. No. 255.
The Scientific Proceedings of the Royal Dublin Society.
Vol. v (N.S.), Parts 3-6.
The Scientific Transactions of the Royal Dublin Society.
Parts xi-xiii.
VOL. XVII. 0
190 LiEUT.-GEN. PiTT-EiVERS. — On an Ancient British
From the SOCIETY. — Bulletin de la Societe Imperiale des Natura-
listes de Moscou. 1886. No. 3.
Bulletin de la Societe de Borda, Dax. 1887. Part 3.
From the EDITOR. — Nature. Nos. 920, 921.
• Science. No. 227.
The Photographic Times. Nos. 299, 300.
Revue d'Ethnographie. 1887. No. 1.
LiEUT.-GENERAL PiTT-RiVERS exhibited a series of very fine
models illustrating his recent excavations in Cranborne Chase ;
and read the following paper : —
On an ANCIENT BRITISH SETTLEMENT EXCAVATED NEAR
KUSHMORE, SALISBURY.
By Lieut-General PITT-EIVERS, D.C.L., F.R.S., F.S.A., F.G.3.,
Vice-President Anthrop. lust.
IN my privately-printed 4to volume of " Excavations in Cran-
borne Chase," vol. I, relating to the excavations in the village
on "Woodcuts Common,1 I have described everything found
there with the utmost detail, avoiding theory as much as
possible, and desiring to make it a work of reference that could
be relied upon for the forms of art of that period found in
this neighbourhood. In collecting evidence from archseological
works professing to be descriptive, I have often experienced the
inconvenience of having to wade through a mass of speculative
matter in order to pick out the facts, and I have endeavoured
to avoid this error by tabulating the materials, and placing the
illustrations of the objects in juxtaposition with the descriptions
of them. This course, no doubt, detracts from the interest of
the volume to the general public, but adds to its value to
the working anthropologist and archaeologist. But, in my
Presidential Address to the meeting of the Archseological
Institute at Salisbury, in 1887, I have enlarged a little, and
shown the bearing of this discovery upon general questions.
The Romanised Britons have not, I think, been studied by
anthropologists so much as they deserve. Whilst the stone and
bronze age people have engrossed our attention, and we have
little difficulty in speaking of their physical peculiarities or
their arts, the Britons, as they were left after the withdrawal of
1 " Excavations in Cranborne Chase, near Rushmore, on the borders of
Dorset and Wilts." By Lieutenant-General Pitt-Rivers, D.C.L., F.R.S., Vol.
I. Printed privately, Ifc87. A copy of this work has been presented by the
author to the Library of the Institute.
Settlement Excavated near Rushmore, Salisbury. 191
the Roman Legions, remain a mystery to us, and afford scope
for the widest divergence of opinion. Yet their influence upon
the existing population of the country must have been far
greater than that of the generations which preceded them.
Although the late Celtic art and ornamentation, found sporadi-
cally in this country before the Roman Conquest, shows
evidence of much taste and refinement, yet the three centuries
of Roman occupation must be considered virtually to mark the
first stages of civilisation in England, and the Briton before and
after that period must have been, in many respects, a very
different being. Whilst some have represented him as utterly
degenerate after the Romans left, and to have been almost
exterminated by the Saxons in the central and eastern part of
the country, recent investigation has tended to modify this
opinion considerably. There can be no doubt that we had a
great and noble inheritance from Rome, and that much of it
must have been passed on to us by the Britons who succeeded
in inoculating their rude Saxon conquerors with what they had
learnt from their old masters. It is even now believed by
some that the language of the Romanised Britons was entirely
Latin, and that the Celtic speech had to be reintroduced into
Wales by tribes that had lived beyond the area of Roman
influence in the north.
Much of this ignorance of the condition of the Britons at this
time, arises, no doubt, from the difficulty of identifying their
graves. A stone or a bronze age grave can be easily deter-
mined by the associated relics, but the Romans introduced
so many auxiliaries and colonists ' from different parts of the
world, that a skeleton found in association with Roman relics
may be that of a native of any part of that wide region over
which the Roman dominion extended. This gives additional
interest to the study of the remains of people who inhabited the
Wiltshire Downs in the western part of the country, in places
that are remote from the Roman centres, in high and com-
paratively barren spots to which the aborigines are likely to
have been driven by their conquerors, where the probability of
finding the remains of the genuine Briton is much greater ; and
when we find in these places skeletons buried in pits in the
villages which they inhabited, surrounded by the relics that
they used in life, and the remains of their habitations, this
serves still more surely to identify them as Britons; for it is
unlikely that the Romans themselves, or their allies, should
have paid so little attention to the remains of their dead as
to throw them into pits with refuse, without any of the signs of
decent burial.
Moreover, we find that those who were buried with any
0 2
192 LIEUT.-GEN. PITT-EIVEKS. — On an Ancient British
signs of care were crouched up after the ancient manner of
the Britons, but few having been found extended, and of these
some of them buried beneath the little ramparts of the villages
in such a way as to show that the latter had been thrown over
them, and that the direction of the bodies was given to them by
the lines of the ramparts, and the drains in which they were also
found interred. All this proves them to be the remains of a
subject rather than a dominant people, and the associated relics
serve also to fix their age without difficulty. The pottery,
of which immense quantities were found in fragments both
in the pits and beneath the surface, some of it in a condition to
be restored, was mostly British, and the pots resembled those
found in settlements of the Eoman age found elsewhere,
especially in Dorsetshire. But with it were fragments of
Samian of Eomau manufacture, and the position of these
undoubtedly Eoman fragments showed that it was in use
during the greater part, if not the whole, of the time of the
occupation of the village. The Eoman coins speak to the same
effect, being of all dates from Caligula, A.D. 37, to Magnentius,
A.D. 353, and they were continuous during the whole period
with one considerable gap of fifty years extending from Clodius
Albinus, A.D. 193, to Trebonianus Gallus, A.D. 253. No doubt
many of the earlier coins were used up to a late date, and,
therefore, afford no actual evidence of the duration of the period
of occupation ; but one special find, consisting of the remains of
a box, the wood of which was found adhering to bronze
ornaments and dolphin-shaped handles, appeared to have con-
tained coins dating from Claudius, A.D. 41, to Claudius Gothicus,
A.D. 270, all of which, if forming the contents of the box, must
have been in use at the same time. The village also pro-
duced four British silver uninscribed coins of the type which
appears, by Mr. Evans' work, to have been prevalent in this
neighbourhood. These British coins may, probably, have been
in use for some time after Eoman occupation, but it is hardly
likely they should have been employed up to the latest period,
so that it seems probable the village must have been occupied
early, as well as late, during the Eoman era. Other circum-
stances point to the same conclusion. The little banks sur-
rounding the village and its outworks, showed evidence of
having been altered, and the excavations proved that, in some
places, banks had been raised over spots where ditches pre-
viously existed. Such changes need not have taken centuries to
develop themselves, but they prove continuity of occupation. The
pits, of which ninety-five were found, were of slightly different
shapes, some, about 11 feet deep, were in the form of a truncated
cone, slightly larger at bottom than top, with the sides smoothly
Settlement Excavated near Rushmore, Salisbury. 193
cut in the chalk, but in no case revetted. Others were quite cylin-
drical, and not more than 4 feet deep. Others had a plan in the
form of two or three circles cutting into each other, suggesting
side chambers or cupboards, yet suggesting also the possibility of
one pit having been cut and tilled up again before the others were
made ; for it is not evident why the circular form should have
been so strictly adhered to in the case of side chambers or cup-
boards. The depths also of these united pits did not in many
cases coincide. They were all filled to the top with earth and
refuse, including fragments of pottery and the remains of
domesticated animals. In some places these collections of
refuse looked as if it had been thrown in in a heap, but in other
parts it was interspersed here and there as if it had been intro-
duced in the earth with which the pits were filled up to the top
so completely as to show no trace upon the surface before the
excavations commenced. With the bones a few fragments of
human skeletons were found occasionally, besides the entire
skeletons of human beings which were thrown into some of the
pits. Only one Roman coin was found in a pit, all the rest
having been found whilst trenching the surface, which suggests
the possibility of most of the pits having been fillad up before
coins came into general use in the village. One quarter of the
village contained relics of superior quality to the other quarters.
Here flat pieces of painted plaster showed that they occupied
square shaped rooms ornamented in the interior, whilst in
other parts of the village the fragments of clay found with the
impression of interlaced sticks upon them, showed that they
lived in houses made of dab and wattle similar to those which I
have elsewhere described as having been found at Mount Caburn,
near Lewes, and which were shown to be of the late Celtic
period. In the rich quarter also were quantities of iron nails,
which denoted that cut timber work was used in the houses, and
these nails were deficient in the pits generally. Tiles of Purbeck
shale, with nail holes to fasten them by, were also found more
frequently in the rich quarter than elsewhere, and terra cotta
" tegulae" were also found there, but only in fragments and used
as pavements, for which purpose these tiles were frequently
employed elsewhere. The absence of " imbrices " which are a
necessary adjunct in the formation of a Eoraan tiled roof
confirms the opinion that the roofs in the Romano-British
village were not tiled in this way ; although the fragments of the
tiles showed that they had certainly been originally constructed
for roofing ; their use for a secondhand purpose conveys the
impression of poverty, although too much stress must not be
laid upon the circumstance. In forming a comparison between
the relics found in the pits and those found just beneath the sur-
194 LIEUT.-GEN. PITT-EIVEKS. — On an Ancient British
face in places where there were no pits, and on the surface over
the pits, what Mr. Pengelly has observed is perfectly true, that
the surface must have been occupied at the same time as the
the earliest pits, and must, therefore, contain some of the relics
earliest dropped about in the village. But if we are to believe
that the pits were tilled up successively as they were
abandoned and others dug to replace them, it is evident that
those early filled up would no longer continue to be the
receptacles for objects in use during the later period of
occupation, but would contain only the earliest things, whilst
the surface would contain the things of all the periods. There
is an object, therefore, in comparing the relative numbers of the
better class of things found in the pits and on the surface. This
has been done with great care, with the result that a much
larger quantity of good things, and things of decidedly Eoman
construction, have been found on the surface than in the pits,
although there is no certain evidence derivable from this source
that the village was ever occupied before Eoman times. On the
other hand things of commoner use were more abundant in the
pits. This may be accounted for partly by supposing that
the village grew in wealth as it went on, and partly by supposing
that the better things were more generally used in the rich
quarter where timber built houses existed, and where the pits
were scarcer, than in the poorer quarter where pits were more
abundant. The value of the evidence bearing upon these points
can only be understood by carefully studying the relic tables
given in my volume and the deductions that are there made
from them. It is always a mistake to expect positive and
conclusive evidence from excavations of this nature ; at the
best, results can only be arrived at by a balance of probabilities
and by recording all the finds with the utmost caie.
The use of the pits cannot be determined with certainty, but
there is reason to suppose that the majority of them were made
to contain refuse, and that the habitations were on the surface
near them. They resemble the pits found in British settlements
of the late Celtic period such as Mount Caburn ; so that the
interior economy of the British villages must have remained
unchanged in Eoman times.
By careful measurement of all the animal bones and comparison
with test animals, the height and length of which were measured
before being killed, it appears that all the domesticated animals
were small, except the pig, which was of nearly the same size as
our own. The horse did not exceed 11 to 12 hands, and re-
sembled the Exrnoor pony in form. The short-horned ox, Bos
longifrons, was about the size of an Alderney cow ; the sheep
was small and^long-legged, resembling those now found only oil
Settlement Excavated near Rmhmore, Salisbury. 195
the Island of St. Kilda. The dog was of all sizes, from that of a
large mastiff or retriever to a small terrier, and one bone of a
Dachshound was also found. Tables of measurement and com-
parison with the test animals will, I hope, be given in my next
volume, on the Excavations in the village of Rotherley, now in
course of preparation. Professor Rolleston was paying attention
to the subject of ancient domesticated breeds at the time of his
death, and I hope to be able to lay the foundation for a careful
study of the subject in my next volume. The horse, as well as
the ox and sheep, was used for food. It is not certain that the
dog was so used, though the number of detached bones of that
animal found with the others rather implies that such was the case.
On the other hand, one entire skeleton of a dog was found buried
with a human skeleton in a grave. Roe deer was used for food
in small quantities but not the red deer, although its horns were
used for the handles of implements. No horns of fallow deer
were found. Oysters were found in large numbers, as is usually
the case in all villages of the Roman age. Three thousand and
twenty-five of these shells were found in the village, but I
omitted to count the number of upper and lower valves, until a
large number had been destroyed. Of the one thousand eight
hundred and seventy-three that then remained I found that
nine hundred and sixteen were tops and nine hundred and fifty-
seven bottoms, from which it is evident that they had been im-
ported entire ; the upper valves are more liable to destruction
than the lower ones. No other mollusks were found, nor were
land shells found in sufficient number to allow it to be supposed
that snails were eaten. No specimen of Helix pomatia was
discovered. Although it was evidently an outlying agricultural
village, the people were not without refinement as attested by a
number of bronze finger rings of Roman manufacture, set with
glass and adapted to fingers of small size. The numerous bronze
fibulae found were all of Roman type, and two mosaic brooches of
blue, red, and white pattern, were of the finest workmanship.
As a rule, the pottery was of rude manufacture, but with flat
bottoms adapted to stand on tables. Some of the vessels had
handles, but many of them were provided with loops for sus-
pension, somewhat similar to those still used by Dorsetshire
labourers in the fields, a form that is not uncommon amongst
Roman remains in this neighbourhood. It appeared to be wheel-
turned, but subsequently smoothed over with striae running in
different directions so as to obliterate the marks of the wheel.
One perfect Samian bowl with figures in relief was found in
fragments and restored. Scarcely any fragments of the coarse
British pottery, having large grains of quartz or shell in its com-
position, were found during the excavations.
196 LIEUT.-GEN. PITT-RIVERS. — On an Ancient British
One of the most remarkable characteristics of the village was
the extensive arrangements that had been made for drainage.
Ditches 3 to 4 feet deep surrounded the village, and from these
other deep drains led down hill and along the sides of the roads,
leading to and from the village, implying probably a much
greater rainfall than is experienced at the present time. The
drains consisted of open ditches, no trace of conduits or faggots
having been found in them.
The same conclusion as to the rainfall is borne out by the
depth of the wells, two of which were found in the village, one
136 and the other 188 feet deep. At the bottom of the deeper
one, the iron bands and handle of the Roman bucket were found,
shewing that it had been used to obtain water, although it is now
quite dry, and a diagram given in my volume showing the
depths of the existing wells on the hill in comparison with the
Roman ones, brings to light the fact that water was obtained in
Roman times at a higher level than is the case at present. No
doubt the destruction of the ancient forests and the drainage of
the land has brought about this change, and the description of
Britain by Pytheas as -a " land of clouds and rain," must have
well applied to the condition of the country at the time we are
speaking of. Associated with the climate also must be con-
sidered several hypocausts found in the village. The use of
some of them is doubtful, but one appears clearly to resemble a
British copy of a Roman flue used for warming a room, made
with flags of Purbeck shale instead of tiles, and shewing that
the owner of the house must have become thoroughly imbued
with Roman ideas of comfort. In one of these hypocausts a
skeleton was found, which had been interred at the time it was
filled up with earth. In one of the pits, the skeleton of a child
about 12 years of age was found to have been killed by a sword
cut on the back of the head, and it was thrown into the pit with
two adults. Twenty-two skeletons of infants were also dis-
covered in various parts of the excavations, the majority of
which were new-born, reminding us of the Roman custom of
burying young children under the eaves of the houses. By
measuring several samples of ancient wheat found in the pits, it
was found that the number of grains to the cubic inch, was the
same as in wheat now grown at the same level. This differs,
from British and pre-Roman grain, which I found higher up
on the hill, which shewed nearly twice as many grains to
the cubic inch as wheat now grown near the same spot, from
which it appears that the influence of Roman methods of
husbandry had told upon the quality of the grain produced at
the time of the occupation of this village.
On the feet of two of the skeletons iron hobnails, Roman
Settlement Excavated near Rushmore, Salisbury. 197
fashion, were found, and on a third a quantity of similar nails
covered the shin bones, some of which were corroded together at
the heads, showing that probably they had served to arm leather
greaves, with which the lower part of the legs had been covered.
This being the condition of the remains, and the probability
of the inhabitants of the village being Britons of the Eoman
era being well attested, it is interesting to consider the physical
peculiarities of the skeletons found thrown into the pits or
otherwise buried within the village. All the skulls that could
be restored have been carefully drawn in my volume, and the
measurements of the skulls and of the bones of the skeletons are
attached to the plates. The first thing that strikes one is their
exceedingly small stature, 3^ inches lower than the estimated
stature of small long-barrow people of this district, and this is
the more remarkable because the only two bronze age skeletons
that I have found in this neighbourhood are of the usual large
stature of the bronze age folk. And the Saxons also which I
found in the neighbouring cemetery at Winkelbury were of the
usual comparatively large size of that people. Of fifteen
skeletons found in the village of Woodcuts, the stature of
thirteen could be estimated by the long bones, viz., seven males,
average stature 5 feet 4'0 inches, and six females average stature,
4 feet 11 '8 inches. The average stature of the males is in-
creased by one .skeleton, which, in the opinion of both Dr.
Beddoe and Dr. Garson, who have examined them, has marked
characteristics of Eoman origin, and which is 3 inches taller
than the tallest of the rest. He was also found in an extended
position, and had a remarkably brachy cephalic skull, the only
one found in this village. If this skeleton were omitted it
would reduce the average stature of the males by 0'7 inches,
making it 5 feet 3'3 inches instead of 5 feet 4'0 inches, and the
height of the tallest man 5 feet 4'8 inches instead of 5 feet 7'8
inches. It is all the more probable that this skeleton was ex-
ceptional in height from the fact that in the neighbouring
Eomano-British village of Eotherley, the description of which is
now iu course of preparation in a second 4to volume, the average
height of eleven males has been found to be only 5 feet 1'3 inch
and that of three females 4 feet lO'O inches, proving the exist-
ence of a very short race inhabiting these villages at that time.
Including together the skeletons in the Woodcuts and
Eotherley villages with the skeleton above mentioned, supposed
to have Eornan characteristics, and adding one other skeleton of
the Eoman-British period found in a pit in the neighbourhood,
all being assumed on sufficient evidence to be Eomano-Britons,
the following is the result: — Males, eighteen, average stature,
5 feet 2'6 inches ; females, ten, average stature, 4 feet 10'9 inches.
198 LiEUT.-GEN. PiTT-EiVERS. — On an Ancient British
To what cause is this small stature to be attributed ? To
inheritance of the peculiarities of their long-barrow ancestors ?
If so, why should their stature have been still further reduced
below the average of that people ? To the drafting of the stronger
portion of the males into the Eoman legions abroad ? Perhaps
the comparatively large size of the females to which Mr. Galton
has alluded may be taken to favour that view, or to the results
of bad living and exposure, and to evils attendant upon slavery ?
Possibly the small size of all the other animals may be thought
to have some bearing on the general effects of poverty ; whilst
on the other hand the large size of the grains of wheat, to which
I have referred, above what was found to prevail in pre-Eoman
times, may be taken as evidence of the existence of an advanced
state of agriculture in the small square fields which are to be
traced in the neighbourhood of the villages.
In estimating the stature from all the long bones, Dr.
Topinard's method, as given in his " Anthropologie Gene'rale," has
been strictly adhered to. I found that the difference of stature
caused by the different methods of estimating the same skeleton
by English physical anthropologists including Beddoe, Flower,
Humphry, and Rollestou amounted to no less than 4 inches,
a difference exceeding the average difference of stature of many
European races, and therefore sufficient to invalidate any com-
parison that might be made from them.1 Without prejudice
therefore to any of the systems advocated by those gentlemen,
I have conformed to Dr. Topinard's rules for the sake of uni-
formity, and in this I am supported by Dr. Garson. But I
would draw the attention of anthropologists to this important
point. Questions of stature enter so largely into all racial specu-
lations that a uniform system of estimating stature from the
long bones is a matter of the most urgent necessity. The uni-
formity obtained by estimating from the different bones of the
same skeleton appears to me to afford evidence, that the calcu-
lation is a reliable one if only the proper formula is used, and
Dr. Topinard's method, even if it should not turn out to be
quite the best, appears to me sufficiently reliable to serve as a
generally accepted standard.
In estimating the cephalic index I have also used Dr. Topi-
nard's rules. The glabello-occipital length has been made the
chief basis of calculation, although the ophryo-occipital length
has in all cases been given as well. The result for the Wood-
cuts skulls shows : one brachycephalic skull, that of the possible
Eoman above referred to, whose index is 822 ; seven mesati-
cephalic, ranging from 750 to 799, and five dolichocephalic, rang-
1 Prof. Flower's method accords very closely with Dr. Topinard's.
Settlement Excavated near Ruslnnore, Salisbury. 199
ing from 714 to 746. The prevalence of long skulls in the
village is therefore very apparent, and this tallies with the sub-
sequent excavations in Kotherley village, where, out of thirteen
skulls measured, one only was brachycephalic, with an index of
826 ; three were mesaticephalic, ranging from 756 to 799, in-
cluding one, which, if the ophryo-occipital length had been taken,
would have been included amongst the brachycephalic ; six were
dolichocephalic ranging from 702 to 743, and three were hyper-
dolichocephalic ranging from 689 to 696.
Including together the skeletons in the Woodcuts and Eotherley
villages, all of which were Eomano-Britons, the following is the
result: — Brachycephalic, two; mesaticephalic, ten; dolicho-
cephalic, eleven ; hyperdolichocephalic, three.
In my address to the Archaeological Institute at Salisbury
(" Journ. Arch. Inst.," xliv, page 271), I have referred to the
peculiarities of this district as an ancient ethnical frontier, and
to the existence of a small dark race of people amongst the
peasantry at the present time.
The practice of burying in the villages, which has been
brought to light by my examination of two of them, affords good
opportunities of studying the peculiarities of race in Eomaii
times, and the number of these villages as yet unexplored
appears to promise a rich harvest for future anthropological
research.
DISCUSSION.
The PRESIDENT drew attention to the curious uniformity in the
calculated statures of the 18 males and 10 females, as shown in
the suspended diagram,1 where they were severally represented by
vertical lines, marshalled in the order of their lengths. There was
only a difference of 3 inches between the stature whose class place
was one-quarter of the length of that class, reckoned from its
lower end, and the stature whose class place was three-quarters
of the length of the class, reckoned also from its lower end.
In other words, there was a difference of only 3 inches between
the lower and upper quartiles of the class, which is the same
thing as twice the " probable error " of the series of recorded
statures. He had shown that the difference between the quartiles
in any class of English men of the present day, who belonged to
the same broad social rank, was 3'4 inches ; similarly as regards
English women. If modern men and women were mixed together
in the above proportions of 18 to 10, the difference between the
quartiles of the mixed series would be much increased ; it would
1 A diagram was exhibited in which the statures of 28 individuals (18 male
and 10 female) were given as inferred from the measurement of the long bones
of the lower limbs.
200 Discussion.
amount to between 4£ and 4^ inches.1 Bat the difference between
the variability in stature of these ancient races and the modern
ones must be greater than is indicated by the above figares of
3 inches for the one and 4| for the other, because the statures
from which the figure 3 is derived had not been obtained by direct
measurement. They were inferred from the length of the leg
bones, and were therefore " fallible " estimates of the real statures.
It would be easy to subtract the effect of this superadded variation,
if we knew the "probable error "of this fallible estimate, bat it
lias never yet been determined. It may be that the ancient Britons
were more uniform in stature than our modern and greatly mixed
races, and again that the statures of the two sexes may have been
less different. It may also be that the individuals in the same en-
campment were closely inter- related and had a family likeness. The
facts to be accounted for cannot, however, be strictly ascertained
until osteologists shall have determined the " probable error " just
alluded to, which would be a matter of little difficulty. It
would be advisable to calculate its value in respect to the height
of the living man as inferred from the measurement after death,
of his femur alone, of his tibia alone, and of the mean of the
lengths of his tibia and femur. It would then be easy to cal-
culate the variability of a race from that of the lengths of one
or more of the leg bones of many skeletons. This, he need hardly
add, is quite another question from that of average stature.
Mr. W. PBNGELLY remarked that, with the Chairman's per-
mission, he would make a few observations on one or two of the
topics which had been so ably placed before the meeting by General
Pitt-Rivers.
Oyster shells had been mentioned as occurring among the finds
met with by the author, and had thus suggested the question,
" Were any other shells found ? " In the most recent deposit
in Kent's Cavern, shells of oysters were abundant, but so also were
those of cockles, limpets, and periwinkles, and there were a few
examples of Pecten, and of the internal shell of the cuttle-fish
(Sepia officinalis).
Shells, however, were found, but less abundantly, in some of the
older deposits ; thus cockle shells occurred in the granular stalag-
mitic floor, and in a branch of the cavern, known as the " Wolf's
1 I calculated this value from the data in my table of " Anthropometric
Per-centiles," published in the " Journ. Anthrop. Inst.," Vol. XIV, p. 277, and
upon the supposition that the proportion between the two sexes was as 20 males
to 10 females. In this case the table gives most of the data by inspection, and
the rest by interpolation, as follows. The mo;«t probable heights for 10 females,
taken at hazard, are those of each successive tenth per-centile ; these are printed
in my table. Those ior 20 males are the values of each successive fifth per-
centile. In the table, the oth and the 95th are given, leaving the 15th, 25th-
85th to be found by interpolation. When this is done, and the 20 males and
ID females values are mixed together and then marshalled, it will be found that
the value of the 25th per-centile, or lower quartile, is 64'5 inches ; and that of
the 75th per-centile, or upper quartile, is 68'8 inches. The difference between
these is 4'3 inches. — F.GK •
Discussion. 201
Cave," twenty-five shells of the common pecten were found in a
cupboard-like recess, between two large masses of limestone, in the
still older cave eai'th. In one instance two, and in another five,
of them were found neatly fitted one into another and cemented
together with stalagmite. There could be no doubt that a human
being had not only packed them, but placed them where they
were found. The fact that at least some of them were " dead
shells" proved that they were taken to the cavern, certainly in some
cases, not because they contained an article of food, bat because
they were useful as utensils. One or two of them contained traces
of charred wood. It would be interesting to know whether General
Pitt-Rivers met with any " dead shells " among his finds.
Though the articles found on the existing surface of the im-
mediately adjacent ground were, as the author suggests, probably
older then those at the bottom of the pits, it should be borne in
mind that breaking the surface was necessarily the earliest work
of the excavators ; so that it is neither impossible nor improbable
that at this first stage a tool might occasionally be lost, or broken
and cast aside, and thus one would not be surprised to find on the
surface as it now exists, tools older, and tools more modern, than
those found at the bottom of the pits.
Mr. A. L. LEWIS having commented upon the exhaustive manner
in which General Pitt- Rivers had conducted his investigations, and
the beautiful models which showed the results obtained in a
manner which would be at once the example and the despair of all
future explorers, asked for further information as to the time and
manner of the filling up of the pits. He thought the General's
statement as to the extent of difference in height brought out by
different methods of measurement of bones must lead to uneasy
reflections as to the value of some former statistics, and theories
based upon those statistics, concerning the early inhabitants of this
country. He agreed with Dr. Beddoe that some of the short
people in this country (whatever might be the case elsewhere) owed
very much of their low stature to an abnormal shortness of the
thigh, and that the thigh was an extremely unsafe index of height.
It appeared from General Pitt-Rivers' models that some perfect
skeletons had been found on his estate : would it not be possible to
put some of these skeletons together with leather or india-rubber
washers to represent the cartilages, and to measure their actual
length? If this were done, and the result compared with that
obtained from calculation of the measurement of the thigh-bone,
this very important question might perhaps be settled.
The following paper was read by the author : —
202 DR. BEDDOE. — On the Stature of the Older Races of
On the STATURE of the OLDER RACES of ENGLAND, as estimated
from the LONG BONES.
By JOHN BEDDOE, M.D., F.R.S.
HAVING, through the kindness of General Pitt-Rivers, had the
advantage of examining the human remains from a Romano-
British village on his property, I was surprised to find how
low was the stature of the inhabitants, as calculated from the
data of Professor Humphry.
This led me to pay more attention to the subject of the resti-
tution of stature from the long bones, especially the femur, than
I had previously done. One result has been that I have satisfied
myself that these very valuable data have been made use of
without the corrections necessary for this particular purpose, and
that, even in the hands of so good an observer as Rolleston, they
have yielded erroneous results.
In the first place, these measurements were made by Professor
Humphry on the skeleton ; and the standard referred to was
the height or length of the skeleton, not of the living body.
Topinard1 says that 35 millimetres (14 inch) should be allowed
on this account, others have made even higher estimates: I
have adhered throughout this paper to that of Topinard.
Moreover, common observation teaches us that short men
have, as a rule, shorter legs in proportion than tall men ; and it
would seem that this applies to both femur and tibia. Hence
the indiscriminate application of Humphry's proportions must,
in a series sufficiently large to swamp the exceptions, bring out
an unduly low stature for short men, and an unduly high one
for tall men, thus exaggerating the actual differences.
On this, as on so many other subjects. Topinard is our prin-
cipal authority ; but Orfila, whose observations are rectified and
summarised by Topinard in his " Anthropologie Ge'ne'rale," had
already accomplished some important work upon it, though his
object was purely medico-legal. Orfila measured the long bones
of persons whose living stature had been ascertained.
I have constructed a table including 75 skeletons of Topinard's,
and 42 of Orfila's, together with a few European skeletons of
Pruner Bey's, two of Williamson's from Fort Pitt, and those of
the two giants in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons,
for the measurements of which I am indebted to Dr. Garson.
The value of the table is diminished by the fact that we do not
know exactly how Orfila arid Williamson took their measure-
ments— what they took for their extreme points. Topinard puts
1 " Antkropologie Generale, " page 474.
England, as Estimated from the Long Bones. 203
the difference between his " maximum length " of the femur, and
that which he calls the " oblique maximum," or " maximum in
position " (i.e., that gotten by the apposition of both condyles
against one of two parallel planes, and of the head against the
other) at 4 millimetres, which would make a difference of about
15 millimetres, or three-fifths of an inch, in the whole stature.
Now this, I am disposed from internal evidence to believe, was
the method adopted by both Orfila and Williamson.
Topinard's figures indicate a considerable increase in the pro-
portion borne by the femur to the skeleton, as one proceeds from
the low to the middle statures (1,685 millimetres, about 5 feet
6'3 inches), but no difference between the middle and the tall.
Orfila's even indicate a moderate decrease after 5 feet 7| inches,
but the significance of this anomaly is diminished by the recur-
rence of higher proportions for the femur among the giants.
Even here, however, there is no uniformity ; but it seems likely
that in giants the tibia is more often excessively long than the
femur. I have endeavoured to get some further light on this part
of the subject from Quetelet's careful measurements of the living
subject. He examined fourteen female models, of whom ten
were Belgians, two Romans, ane a Parisian, and one a Spaniard.
Of these three might be rated as moderately tall women, averag-
ing 1,611 millimetres or 63'4 inches, which may be the equiva-
lent of 68 inches in European males ; eight as of middle stature,
between 60 and 63 inches ; and three as short, averaging 1,507
millimetres or 59'3 inches. Now the proportion borne to the
total stature by the distance from the top of the trochanter to
the ground, was in the tall women 52'6, in those of medium
height 51 '4, and in the short ones only 491. We have here a
regular increase, correlative with the height, in the proportions
of the lower extremity. On the other hand, the general result
of Quetelet's observations on the proportions of men, including
Belgians, Ojibbeway Indians, and Kaffirs, shews no increase of
relative length of the femur or of the lower extremity in men
of 6 feet high over those of 5 feet 9 inches, or even less.
To sum up, it would seem that, as we ascend the scale of
stature, the relative length of the femur and of the whole lower
extremity continues to increase until we reach the middle height
or something more, but that beyond that point such increase is
small or doubtful, especially in the femur, any augmentation
being more apt to come out in the tibia.
It may be long before Topinard can carry out his intention
of collecting a sufficient number of specimens at every stage.
Meanwhile, I will endeavour to lay down a rule for reconstituting
stature, imperfect indeed, but better than any now in use.
I have already said that the method based on Humphry errs
204 DR. BEDDOE. — On the Stature of the Older Races of
in two respects. The first is its omission to take into account
the soft parts, the integument of the skull, and the cushion of
the heel : this omission can easily be rectified by adding, with
Topinard, 1'4 inch, or 35 millimetres. The second, its applica-
tion of the same proportions to tall, to medium, and to short
men, it is less easy to rectify.
The necessity of such rectification may be shewn by quoting
some of Rolleston's measurements from his and Green well's
important joint work.
The young woman from Flixton Wold is spoken of as having
had a stature of 61 inches (1,550 mm.). Her femur measured
16'8 inches (426 mm.), and her tibia, not including, apparently,
the malleolus, 13'4 inches (340 mm.). These data, whether we
follow Orfila or Topinard, indicate a probable stature of quite
62^ inches, if not more. Thurnam would have computed it at
from 6T5 to 63'2. A woman from Sherbum Wold, of dolicho-
cephalic type, is put by Kolleston at 56 inches, her femur
having evidently measured 1 5 -4 inches (about 390 mm.). Allow-
ing for the " maximum oblique " measurement, for the soft parts,
and for the woman having certainly been of short figure, she
may probably have had a stature of 58'7 inches. Again,
Rolleston speaks of a femur found at Upper Swell as probably
male, but giving a stature of only 59 inches (1,500 mm.) to its
owner. This estimate must have been derived by him from a
length of 16'2 inches, from which Topinard would have inferred,
probably, a height of 61'6 inches, Orfila one of 62'2 at least, and
Thurnam one of 60'8. My rule would give in this case 61 '6
inches (1,564 mm.).
Thurnam in his earlier days used a very erroneous way of
computing, but subsequently struck out a new plan, which
yields very close approximations in the case of statures either a
little above or a Hi tie below the middle. This is the striking off
an inch from the length of the femur, together with half of any
excess there may be over 18 inches, and then multiplying by
four. It fails by deficiency in very low and in gigantic figures,
and is slightly in excess at about 18 inches. Another very fail-
rule of his was the addition of one inch to twice the combined
length of the femur and tibia. This gives an insufficient result
with low statures, but is otherwise fairly correct.
When the tibia alone is available, its length, including the
malleolus, may be multiplied by 4'5 ; the result will generally be
a little too small, except in giants. The maximum length of
the humerus may be multiplied by five and T4 inch added, but
here as well as in the tibia, the uncertainty of modes of measure-
ment comes in.
The easiest way to apply Humphry's table is to multiply the
England, as Estimated from the Long Bones. 205
length of the femur by four, subtract one-eleventh of the pro-
duct, and add 1'4 inch, or 35 millimetres. The result is very
deficient in the low statures, but in the higher ones very fair, or
slightly in excess.1
The plan I venture to propose, however, is founded on the
femur alone. I take away from the length of the femur one-
quarter of the excess over 13 inches up to 19, and thereafter
only one-eighth ; and then multiply by four.
Thus let F = length of femur in inches, and x the living
stature; then —
x = 4 (F - $ (F - 13) - H* - 13 - [F- 19]))
= 3 F + F - i (F - 13) - i (F - 13 - [F - 19])
= 3 F + 13 + i (F — 19)
Thus, more simply, add to thrice the length of the femur in
inches 13 inches, and one-half of any excess over 19 inches.
In women, for 13 and 19 read 12 '5 and 17 '5.
Or, on the metric system, add to thrice the length of the
femur 33 centimetres, together with one-half of the excess over
48 centimetres. In women read 32 and 44 or 44'5. The reason
for making these allowances in the case of women is as follows :
Though the average proportion borne by the lower extremities
to the stature is, if anything, rather smaller in women than in
men, yet as the middle stature in the former corresponds to a
low stature in the latter, it seems probable that the height about
which women pass from dwarfish to average proportions of trunk
and limbs must be somewhat lower than in the case of men.
Several interesting points appear to arise from the second
table. In the first place, it indicates that the neolithic or long-
barrow race, if we may judge from what remains we possess,
were not quite so small as Eolleston thought them, nor so very
inferior in stature to the bronze race as Thurnam made them
out to be. The figures on which the latter finally rested were
65*4 inches (1,661 mm.) and 68'4 inches (1,737 mm.) ; shewing
a difference between the two races of exactly 3 inches.
I confess that my rule fails here (in the long-barrow men) to
the extent of bringing out an error of excess of perhaps two or
even three-tenths of an inch (5 to 8 mm.). Topinard's average
from femora of 18 inches is only 66 '3 inches, but the evidence of
Orfila and of Humphry is strong just here, and even if we allow
that Orfila used the maximum oblique way of measurement, we
can hardly put the stature of these long-barrow men lower than
66'7 inches (or 1,694 mm.). The average difference between a
1 The results of this procedure appear in iny table under column 6, styled
" Humphry, corrected for soft parts."
VOL. XVII. P
206 DK. BEDDOE. — On the Stature of the Older Peaces of
stone man and a bronze man will therefore stand at 2*7 inches
(68 mm.). No wonder that Thurnam discarded his own method
of computation for one based on Humphry. The former gave
him a difference of only 1-6 inch (40 mm.) between the two
races, the latter one of 3 (76 mm.), thus emphasising Thurnam's
great discovery of the racial difference between British stone
men and bronze men.
The supposed great inferiority in stature of the neolithic
women, dwelt upon by Rolleston, is scarcely borne out by my
computation — 61*5 inches is not a very low stature. But more
data are wanting.
My Romano-British examples are mostly taken from one
locality, White Horse Hill, and are of course less valuable than
if they had been derived from several sources. Both men and
women, especially the latter, are smaller than those of the
earlier populations. I look forward with interest to the light
which General Pitt-Rivers's discoveries at Rushmore may throw
upon this part of the subject.
Of the Anglo-Saxons included in my tables a few pppear in
more than one of the component lists ; the actual number of in-
dividuals being about 50 men and 25 women. They are taken
from several districts or settlements in the south and south-east
of England, and are probably sufficient in number to enable us
to approach a true estimate of the average stature of the Saxon
population in that region. As the restitution of the average
stature was seldom, apparently, a leading motive with those who
superintended their exhumation, there is a chance that in some
instances selection may have been exercised, the longest femora
having been measured, and the shorter ones neglected. This
may have been the case at Harnham, but at Long Wittenham
and Brighthampton it is pretty clear that Mr. Akerman mea-
sured all the femora he could find in measurable condition ; and
w ehave probably a fair sample of the Saxon peasantry. The few
men buried with swords, whether eorlcundmen or tithingmen,
are somewhat taller than the average, as might perhaps have
been expected.
Reports of the length of unarticulated skeletons I have passed
by as quite untrustworthy. Thus a South Saxon skeleton from
Firle was described to Barnard Davis as 6 feet 4 inches in
length, its femur being, according to Davis himself, only 19 inches;
while a skeleton at Brighthampton, with a femur of the same
length and a tibia of 16 inches, is recorded as measuring 6 feet
7 inches. These errors were not committed by anatomists, and
are beyond any that could possibly arise from different ways of
measuring the bones.
The measurements of the Saxon nobles from Ely are of
England, «;? Estimated from the Long Bones, 207
special interest, apart from the clear identification of their owners,
from the fact that Mr. Bentham has given us the means of
checking our conclusions in the lengths of the tibia, humerus,
ulna, and clavicle. It would seem that either Bentham used
Topinard's oblique maximum, thus understating the length of
the femora by perhaps one per cent., or that the tibia, in the
bishops especially, were unusually long. I am a little inclined
to think this last is an Anglo-Saxon peculiarity. From internal
evidence one can say that Bentham was very careful in his pro-
cedure. My final result is that the hero of Maldon tight must
have been at least as tall as my rule makes him, over 6 feet
3 inches, and that the bishops were a little taller than it allows,
probably quite 69 inches, or 1,750 millimetres.1
1 I have not made use of Rolleston's measurements of the Frilford skeletons.
They would have been very valuable for my purpose, had their racial attribution
been easier : but in many cases it was by no means free from doubt, as Rolleston
acknowledged. Frilford seems to have been inhabited, ia the later Roman period,
by tall men and short women. I am inclined to suspect that some of the tall
men assigned by Kolleston to the Hohberg type may have been Eoman soldiers
of Germanic blood.
p 2
208 DK. BEDDOK. — On the Stature of the Older Races of
•5
Q °
T +i
CM
I
2fe-
0 £ to
X 0
H
i +
O5
CM
X
CO 00 CO M*
P
m
gS38g3SJS8S15CS8Sga
O2
oa
i
.SS.^oooo., to • V ."'. 9 , 8 .
•e
CC
<r.
5
.Thurnam.
AO-O^OCOCOCDCOCOCOCOCOCOCOCOt^-COt^t^OO
CO
00
:
-If
fc "5
8
SI§SSSSSg§g£52S^§gSS
S
o
t
lO
p<
3
a
*OtO*OCOCOCOCOCOCDCOCOCOCO<OI>-CDCOOOC^
8
en
g
*• «
c*.
II
I-HJ/J
g § S 8 3 S § S 8 8 £ 8 S g K 8 S S §?
bj
o
a
g
fa Sc
co us ia | oo
CM
^3^O'Oco^-^-^-t-^-c«^ooooooooalOoe»^^J•*
iC
§
H
e
..,3__aa_..s
-
CM
'C
^
f
£
o
A
3
: 1 : lit!-, : 1 8 : ;§^l
oo'-O W £?•« an'ie B' —
S 3 t.j=S E S«fl
oS.2e5Cc3s!gc8g<CoSo!.Se3cei5.2l3~
niard (Topin
great giant
CS'OHOOPHCSE-iOCS-OHCJ'^C
a
Si
i
H
England, as Estimated from the Long Bones.
209
TABLE II.
STATUBE OF THE OLDEE EACES.
Bace, <fcc.
Locality and Author.
Femur,
inches,
average.
Tibia,
inches,
average.
Stature,
inches.
Stature,
mm.
Stature,
(f+t)
X2-I-1
25 Neolithic ... m
Thurnam
18
67
1702
5 ... w
Davis, Thurnam, and
Bolleston
16-35
61-55
1563
17 Brachyc. fr. (round
barrows) ni
Davis and Thurnam
18-66
69
1752
27 Bound barrow m
Thurnam
18-8
69-4
1762
2 do. w
Davis, Thurnam, and
Kolleston
17-68
65-54
1665
10 Romano-British m
Davis and Thurnam
17-88
66-64
1693
4 do. ... w
do.
16-07
60-7
1542
13 Anglo-Saxon ... m
do.
18-76
...
69 -28
1760
3 do. ... w
do.
16-66
62-2
1579
23 Anglo-Saxon m
Long Wittenham (Aker-
man)
18-38
-
68-14
1730
17 do. w
do. da.
16-63
...
62-4
1584
7 do. with tibiae m
do. do.
19-03
15-9
70-1
1780
70-86
3 do. sword-bearers m
Long Wittenham and
Brighthampton, do.
18-75
69-25
1753
6 do. do. m
Brighthampton, do.
18-16
...
67-5
1714
2 do. do. w
do. do.
16-75
62-75
1593
4 do. do. m
Harnham, Wilts, do. ...
19-37
...
71 1
1885
4 do. do. w
do. do.
18
67
1702
3 Anglo-Saxon ... m
Ozingell, Kent (B. Davis)
19-1
70-15
1782
Earl Brithnoth
Ely (Bentham)
20-5
16-75
76-25
1911
7V5
5 Anglo-Saxon Bishops
do. do
18-4
15-54
68-2
1732
68-88
Anglo - Saxon general
18-57
68'4
1747
average ... m
Do. do. w
16-84
63-07
1602
210 List of Presents.
NOVEMBER 8ra, 1887.
Prof. A. H. KEANE, B.A., Vice-President, in the Chair.
The Minutes of the last meeting were read and signed.
The election of the following new members was announced : —
JAMES KINGSTON BAKTON, Esq., of 2, Courtfield Road, Glou-
cester Eoad, S.W.; EDWARD BELLAMY, Esq., F.R.C.S., of 17,
Wimpole Street, W. ; GEORGE JAMES HENDERSON, Esq., of
Caterthum, North Dulwich, S.E. ; and BERNARD HOLLANDER,
Esq., of 52, Welbeck Street, Cavendish Square, W.
The following presents were announced, and thanks voted to
the respective donors : —
FOR THE LIBRARY.
From FRANCIS GALTON, Esq., F.R.S. — Monismo o Nichilismo.
2 Vols. By F. Maltese.
From Prof. R. VIRCHOW. — Das Todtenfeld von Ancon in Peru.
Ein Beitragzur Kenntniss der Kultur und Industrie des Inca-
Reiches nach den ergebnissen eigener Ausgrabungen. Von
W. Reiss und A. Stiibel.
From E. W. BRABROOK, Esq. — Perioden im Gewicht der Kinder und
in der Sonnenwiirme, Beobachtungen von R. Malling-Hanseu.
From the AUTHOR. — Excavations in Cranborne Chase, near Rush-
more, on the borders of Dorset and Wilts. By Lieutenant-
General Pitt-Rivers, D.C.L., F.R.S., &c.
China in America : a Study in the Social Life of the Chinese
in tbe Eastern Cities of the United States. By Stewart
Culin.
The Babylonian Chronicle. By Theo. G. Pinches, M.R.A.S.
The Solomon Islands. By Baron A. von Hiigel.
Le Role de la Science dans I'Acclimatation. Par M. Dareste.
Przyczynek do Etnografii ludu ruskiego na Wolyniu. By
Prof. Dr. I. Kopernicki.
De praehistorische steenen wapenen en werktuigen uit den
Oost-Indischen Archipel, beschouwd uit een archeologisch en
etnographisch oogpunt. Door C. M. Pleyte Wzn.
• Translation of the " Ko-ji-ki," or " Records of Ancient
Matters." By Basil Hall Chamberlain.
The Language, Mythology, and Geographical Nomenclature
of Japan, viewed in the light of Aino Studies. By Basil Hall
Chamberlain.
From the AUTHORS. — La Race Humaine de Neanderthal ou de
Canstadt en Belgique. Par Julien Fraipont et Max Lohest.
Notes sur 1'Ethnographie de la partie orientale de TAfrique
List of Presen ts. 211
Equatoriale. Par le Docteur Victor Jacques et le Capitaine
E. Storms.
From, the AUTHORS. — Le Cimetiere de Saaftingen. Par Louis de
Pauw et le Docteur Victor Jacques.
Crani Peruviani Antichi del Museo Antropologico nella
Universita di Roma. Studio di G. Sergi e L. Moschen.
From the STATE BOARD OF HEALTH, MASSACHUSETTS. — Forty-fifth
Report to the Legislature of Massachusetts relating to the
Registry and Return of Births, Marriages, and Deaths in the
Commonwealth, for the year ending December 31, 1886.
Eighteenth Annual Report.
From the DEPTSCHE GESELLSCHAFTFUR ANTHROPOLOGIE, ETHNOLOGIE,
UND UBGESCHICHTE. — Archiv fur Anthropologie. Band xvii.
Parts 1, 2.
Correspondenz-Blatt. 1887. Nos. 6-8.
From the BERLIN GESELLSCHAFT FUR ANTHKOPOLOGIE, ETHNOLOGTE,
TJND URGESCHICHTE. — Zeitschrift fiir Ethnologic. 1887. Heft.
.3,4.
From the SOCIETA ITALIANA DI ANTROPOLOGIA, ETNOLOGIA, E Psico-
LOGIA COMPARATA. — Archivio per 1'Antropologia. Vol. xvii.
Fas. 1, 2.
From the UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. — Sixth Annual
Report. 1884-85.
Bulletin. Nos. 34-39.
From the UNITED STATES BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. — Fourth Annual
Report. 1882-83.
— Work in Mound Exploration of the Bureau of Ethnology.
By Cyrus Thomas.
From the SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTE. — Report. 1885. Part 1.
Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. Vols xxviii-xxx.
From the TRUSTEES OF THE PEABODY MUSEUM. — Twentieth Annual
Report. Vol. iii. No. 7.
Conventionalism in Ancient American Art. By. F. W.
Putnam.
From the ROYAL ARCHAEOLOGICAL INSTITUTE.- — The Archaeological
Journal. No. 174.
From the ROYAL SCOTTISH GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY. — The Scottish
Geographical Magazine. Vol. iii. Nos. 7-11.
From the ESSEX FIELD CLUB. — The Essex Naturalist. 1887. Nos. 5-9.
From the Socilh'E' ARCH^OLOGIQUE, AGRAM. — Viestnik hrvatskoga
Arkeologickoga Druztva. Godina ix. Br. 2-4.
From the ACADE\MIE ROYALE DBS SCIENCES DE BELGIQUE. — Memoires
des Membres. Tom. xlvi.
Memoires couronnes et des savants etrangers. Tom. xlvii,
xlviii.
Memoires couronnes et autres memoires. Tom. xxxvii,
xxxviii, xxxix.
Bulletins de 1'Academie 3° serie. Tom. ix-xiii.
Annuaires de 1886 et 1887.
Catalogue. le et 2e parties.
212 List of Presents.
From the K. K. AKADEMIE DEE WISSENSCHAFTEN, WIEN. — Sitznngs-
berichte philos.-histor. Classe, Band cxii, Heft 1, 2 ; Band
cxiii, Heft 1, 2 ; Band cxiv, Heft 1 : math.-naturw. Classe,
I Abthlg., 1886, Nos. 4-10; II Abthlg., 1880, Nos. 3-10;
1887, Nos. 1, 2. Ill Abthlg., 1886, Nos. 1-10.
From the MAGYAR TUDOMANYOS AKAD^MIA. — Almanach 1887.
Nyelvtudomanyi Ertekezesek, xiii, 3, 4 and 6-12.
Nyelvtudomanyi Kozlemenyek, xx, 1, 2.
Munkacsi Bernat. Votjak nepkolteszeti hagyomanyok.
Tortenetfrudomanyi Ertekezesek, xiii, 2, 4, 5.
Tarsadalmi Ertekezesek, viii, 7-10 ; ix, 1.
Dr. Wlassics Gyula. A biinkiserlet es bevegzett biincselek-
meny, II.
Ungarische Revue. 1887. Nr. 1-7.
Naturwissenschaftliche Berichte. iv.
Ethnologische Mittheilungen aus Ungarn. 1887, Heft 1 .
From the BATAVIAASCH GENOOTSCHAP VAN KUNSTEN EN WETEN-
SCHAPPEN. — Tijdschrift voor indische taal-, land- en volken-
kunde. Deel xxxi, Afl. 5, 6; Deel xxxii, Afl. 1.
Notulen van de algemeene en bestuurs-vergaderingen. Deel
xxv, Afl. 1, 2.
Dagh-Register gehonden int Casteel Batavia vant passerende
daer ter plaetse als over gehee] Nederlandts-India Anno 1640-
1641. Van Mr. J. A. van der Chijs.
From the ACADEMY. — Proceedings of the American Academy of
ArtsS and Sciences. New Series Vol. xii.
Boletin de la Academia Nacional de Ciencias en Cordoba.
Tom. ix, Ent. 3, 4.
From the ASSOCIATION. — Journal of the East India Association.
Vol. xix, Nos. 5-7.
• Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Associa-
tion of Ireland. Nos. 70-72.
Report and Transactions of the Devonshire Association. Vol.
xix, and Extra Volume. The Devonshire Domesday, Part iv.
Proceedings of the American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science, Vols. xxxiv, xxxv.
From the INSTITUTE. — Proceedings of the Royal Colonial Institute.
Vol. xviii.
Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute,
1886. Vol. xix.
From the INSTITUTION. — Journal of the Royal United Service
Institution. No. 140.
From the SOCIETY. — Proceedings of the Royal Society. Nos. 256-
258.
Proceedings and Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada
for the year 1886. Vol. iv.
Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria.
Vols. xxii, xxiii.
Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society. Vol. ix,
Nos. 7-11.
List of Presents. 213
From the SOCIETY. — Journal of the Society of Arts. Nos. 1806-
1811, 1813-1824
Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries. Vol. xi, No. 3.
— Transactions of the Society of Biblical Archaeology. Vol. ix,
Part 1.
- Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. 1887, Nos.
2-5.
— Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. No. 274.
— Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. Vol. xix, Part 4.
Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan. Vol. xv,
Part 1.
Journal of the China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society.
Vol. xxi, Nos. 5, 6.
Report of the Leeds Philosophical and Literary Society for
1886-7.
Bulletins de la Societe d'Anthropologie de Paris. Tom. x.
Fas. 2.
Bulletin de la Societe d'Anthropologie de Bruxelles. Tom. v.
1886-1887.
Bulletin de la Societe Imperiale des Naturalistes de Moscou.
1887. No 3.
- Bulletin de la Societe de Borda, Dax. 1887, No. 3.
Boletim da Sociedade de Geographia de Lisboa. 6* Serie,
No. 12, 7A Serie, No. 1.
Bulletin de la Societe des Sciences Naturelles de Neuchatel.
Tom. xv.
IX Jahresbericht des Vereins fur Erdkunde zu Metz fur
1886.
— Mittheilungen der Anthropologischen Gesellschaft in Wien.
Band xvii, Heft 1.
Fiinfnndzwanzigster Bericht der Oberhessischen Gesellschaft
fur Natur- und Heilkunde.
From the EDITOR.— Nature, Nos. 922-927, 929-940.
— Journal of Mental Science. Nos. 106, 107.
- Timehri. Nos. x, xi.
American Antiquarian. Vol. ix, Nos. 3, 5.
Science. Nos. 228-234, 236-247.
Photographic Times. Nos. 301-306, 308-313, 315-319.
L'Homme. 1887. Nos. 9-11, 13, 14, 16-18.
Materiaux pourl'histoire de 1'Homme. 1887. Feb.-Aug.
Revue d'Ethnographie. 1887, No. 2.
— Bullettino di Paletnologia Italiana. 1887, N. 7, 8.
MAJOR-GENERAL SIR FREDERICK J. GOLDSMID, K.C.S.I., and
MR. E. DELMAR MORGAN, F.R.G.S., exhibited some Implements
and Works of Art from the Lower Congo.
The following paper was read by the author : —
214 R C. PHILLIPS. — The Lower Congo;
The LOWER CONGO; a SOCIOLOGICAL STUDY.
By ElCHARD COBDEN PHILLIPS.
[WITH PLATE V.]
THE part of Africa dealt with in the following pages is the
Congo River, from about Vivi downwards to the mouth, and the
coast northwards to Loango, and southwards as far as Kinsembo.
The chief ports which will be mentioned are as follows : — On
the north bank of the river, ascending, there are Banana, near
the mouth, Ponta de Lenha, Boma (often marked on maps as
Embomma), Binda and Vivi; on the south bank San Antonio,
Chinivika, Kisanga, Chichianga, Musuku, Noki, Angoango, and
Matadi, On the coast-line southwards are Cabeqa da Cobra,
Mangue Grande, Mukula, Arnbrizette, and Kinsembo; on the
coast northwards Kabiuda, Landana, Chiioango, Masabe, Ponta
Negra, and Loango. (See Map, PL V.)
To understand the present system of society it will be neces-
sary to take a retrospective view of the same, and also to set
down the chief factors, external and internal, that have played a
part in moulding the life and character of the native. Let us
commence with the latter as they existed, say, thirty years ago,
and then trace the progress of the tribes up to the present,
noting the incidence of disturbing influences when they arise.
Of the external factors we will commence with the climate ;
this is damp, hot, and malarious, and uniform throughout the
district in question. The mean temperature may be taken at 75°
Fahrenheit, the limits being about 65° to 90°. The oppressive-
ness of the heat and the chill of the cold seem to be exaggerated
by the great humidity, which is seldom less than 80 per cent, of
saturation, and which often rises as high as 90 or 95 per cent. It
is pointed out by Spencer that this character of climate has
never been known to give rise to, or to sustain developed civili-
sation ; hot, dry, and healthy localities being the birthplaces,
and a somewhat colder climate the nurseries of such tribes as
have laid the foundations of civilised nations. The similarity of
climate throughout the district deserves attention : this combined
with the similarity of the soil renders the productiveness of the
whole district very uniform, no one place giving rise to products
of a different character from those of the others ; thus there is little
possibility of an extended interchange of inland commodities, as
each part can make for itself all that the neighbouring tribes
could offer. The only noteworthy exception to this homogeneity
is that between the littoral tribes and the inland tribes, the
former can make salt, and can catch and dry fish ; and thus an
a Sociological Study. 215
interchange of commodities can take place to some extent. The
influence of the trading factories will be considered apart, as it
has varied from time to time during the period which we shall
presently consider.
While on the subject of climate, it must be noted that the
yearly rains are very variable both in their extent and in their
time of falling, this has a disturbing effect on the crops that is
often disastrous, paralysis of trade and scarcity of food being
the result of these meteorological irregularities. The food of
the natives is mostly vegetable, and the ravages of insects and
mould are such as to make a reserve supply impracticable ; thus
the surplus from a good year cannot be made available in times
of scarcity. Another result is that not more food will be grown
than the natives expect to consume. To enumerate the chief
food-stuffs of the Congo, the vegetable ones are mandioca, maize,
several kinds of beans, the ground-nut (Arachix hypoyea), the
ground-bean (Voandzea subterranea), a few yams, and the palm-
nut. This last is not cultivated, but is cut from the trees
wherever they happen to grow.
For animal food, of which the natives eat but little, there are
sheep, goats, ducks, and fowls, besides a little game, field-rats,
and in some parts the larvae of insects. The coast tribes make
considerable use of fish, prawns, and, in some parts, oysters and
crabs.
Another peculiarity of the country has to be noticed as having
an immense negative influence on the civilisation of the Congo
tribes ; the difficulty of attack, and the shelter to a retreating
party afforded by the dense woods which cover large areas. ' The
banks of the river and the inland country present large woods
and grass-grown spaces that can well protect fighting parties in
ambush, these can pass from place to place without being seen
by an attacking party, the roads or tracts are narrow and must
be kept, otherwise progress becomes difficult if not impossible.
The available springs of water are few and not easily found,
their quality is bad and their extent limited. Thus a small tribe
of natives can easily retreat or scatter, while an attacking force
is placed at a great disadvantage. The inhabited islands of the
river are situated in labyrinths of creeks, bordered by immense
swamps of mangrove trees : the short and shallow cuts are per-
fectly known to the natives, while pursuit is impossible. This
makes the subjection of the natives to a central power a prac-
tical impossibility; surprises, slaughter, confusion, and at last
nobody to fight would be the end of an attempt to attack the
island tribes in their swampy retreats.
No more convincing proof of the futility of attack can be
adduced than that afforded by an attack some two years ago by
216 Pi. C. PHILLIPS. — The Lower Congo ;
Portuguese gunboats on a small town named Katala. The
vessels anchored opposite the village and poured in a fire from
their guns and a hundred and fifty rifles for fourteen hours, the
natives not even retreating ; they scattered in the grass and
behind trees, and in ridicule returned the fire with their flint
guns, enlivening the proceedings by beating drums and making
hideous music on their bugles. Had the vessels landed a force,
a retreat of two hundred yards would have been quite sufficient
to give all necessary shelter to the natives. The Portuguese
recognised this, and after being thus befooled, weighed anchor,
and departed amid the derision of the natives. The result was
one woman fatally wounded, who was innocently watching the
approach of the vessels, when they opened fire without a moment's
warning. I should like to add that this attack was not only
unjustifiable, as have been ail the attacks I have known (with
one possible exception) during a sixteen years' residence in those
parts, but that no pretext whatever had been given until the
town had twice been attacked by bellicose traders.
However, I now refer to the affair to emphasise the statement
that the natives are shielded from attack by their surroundings,
and to a much greater extent than most people would imagine.
Higher up the river, this protection by swamps and woods
ceases.
Bearing then in mind that the external factors are generally
adverse to progress, we will now consider the natives physically,
and then turn our attention to the internal, or mental factors
which must be understood in order to form a just estimate of
the Fiote, as they call themselves.
No systematic measurements' of natives have ever been
made, but they appear to be of a rather low stature, broad and
muscular, with slightly larger viscera than the European.
There is, however, much difference in tribes in various parts,
the apparently best nourished being the island tribes, called
Misorongo, between Banana and Ponta de Lenha, and those of
the south bank of the river; next come the Loango and the
littoral Kabindas, then the river natives from Ponta de Lenha
upwards, and lastly the coast tribes south of the river, com-
prising Mukula, Ambrizette, and Kinsembo. The appearance of
these latter tribes seems to have degenerated of late years
through repeated famines, they are much more miserable in
appearance than formerly, being now wasted and lacking muscle
in a high degree. The difference is marked between the
Misorongo below Ponta de Lenha and the natives of Kabinda
1 It appears that Dr. Falkenstein has made many such measurements, but the
results are not yet generally known.
a Sociological Study. 217
origin above that place, a difference for which it is difficult to
account, but which may perhaps to some extent be due to the
greater amount of fish caught in the lower part of the river, and
the more extended cultivation of the more secure islands. A
curious feature of these Misorongo is the peculiar womanly
cast of features when the body is covered with a shawl, it is
often hard to distinguish the sex of the individual in the absence
of hair on the face, as often happens. Strange that the most
turbulent of the Congo tribes should have such a feminine
appearance !
As for the bodily proportions, the arms a.re somewhat longer
in proportion to the legs than in the European races, the legs
showing a falling off from the acknowledged standard. The
natives seem to show in some respects a greater strength than
civilised races, and in other respects the reverse ; this anomaly
may perhaps be explained by the following considerations : —
The natives excel in carrying weights, which the civilised man
drops through pain, not through weight; a hammock carried on a
pole over the shoulder soon becomes unbearable to us if no pad
be used, through the cutting into the shoulder, not from the
weight itself ; were the load more comfortably distributed we
might carry it as easily as the native ; it is insensibility to pain,
not extra strength, that enables the native to bear such loads
with ease. Again, take endurance in walking. The native is in
his fitting climate, and is doing what he does every day, but the
European, besides the disadvantage of disuse, has to support an
almost intolerable degree of heat, which deranges the power of
endurance more than the muscular exertion.
In a fair trial of strength the European would probably show
a decided superiority.
Strength and endurance depend not alone on the development
of the muscular system, requisite though that is, but on the
state of the nervous system, which supplies the force that works
the muscles. The view that the nervous system is wanting in
development explains the phenomena we find, and the general
insensibility to pain, the indifference to heat and cold, and the
absence of shock after severe injuries, all probably depend on the
same reason.
Whether insensibility to heat and cold, and immunity from
their effects go together, I cannot say, but it is certain that
no European could endure the extremes that the native bears
with indifference.
Fevers, which are dangerous to the European, are much more
easily thrown off by the native without the use of special
medicine ; they go away and do not return, which is seldom the
case witli the European.
218 R. C. PHILLIPS. — The Lower Congo ;
The digestive system of the natives is larger than that of the
civilised : they can eat enormous quantities of food at a meal
without inconvenience, and then fast or take but little nourish-
ment for a long period. Their fat-deposits appear to respond at
once to the requirements of the body, fluctuating according to
the amount lately eaten. This physical peculiarity is necessi-
tated by the conditions of existence ; death would soon result
were the system to require a proper amount of food at stated
intervals, as the food would often not be obtainable. The feast-
and-famine existence to which uncivilised races are subject,
makes the corresponding bodily peculiarity common to savages
in general. Monteiro, an accurate observer, considers these
races as probably a degenerated remnant of higher developed
forefathers, and in this view I coincide ; evidence in favour of
this view will be forthcoming later on.
Turning now to the emotional nature of the natives, we find a
manifest inferiority. Their feelings, prompting action, are
characterised by impulsiveness, as in the youth and the lower
orders of the civilised; though usually serious they are easily
roused to laughter by anything ridiculous. I have seen questions
of apparently a serious nature laughed off by some comical
remark; though friendly disposed towards each other they
quarrel about the veriest trifles, a handful of peppers, or a leaf
of tobacco often originating a fierce dispute.
Tell them that it is childish to quarrel about such trifles, and
they will probably look foolish and laugh over the affair. Fond
of their wives and children, they still abuse them for trifles, or
get the crotchet into their heads that some near relative is
bewitching them, and forthwith destroy them with the poison
ordeal.
Their property they use in the same impulsive fashion ; after
haggling half a day for a trifle, they will give away more than
the value of the disputed article. While demanding heavy
damages for the most trifling aggression, they will almost ruin
themselves with liberality rather than be thought mean.
Stinginess is the black man's abomination, as it is of our school-
children.
Eeliance on the capable man is a very prominent trait in
their character, as with females and the lower orders at home ;
a master of slaves, or the father of a family may be very
exacting towards his dependents, yet they will support him
devotedly if only he can protect them from outside annoyance.
The lenient man is looked on with suspicion ; they fear he has
not spirit enough to properly resent aggressions, and their
loyalty diminishes. The Fiote are thievish, but, as a rule,
confine their depredations to objects of little value, or such as
a Sociological Study. 219
they think will not be missed. They do not wish to injure
foreigners, but steal general goods when opportunity offers,
thinking that the white man has plenty more, and will not miss
a small quantity. The proprietary sentiment is but little
developed, the native, after accumulating a small stock of
goods, is quite content to spend his time in idleness until his
stock runs short, and want compels him to renew his labours.
The natives will seldom undertake labour unless the returns
will be speedy. The planting of trees that require much time
to mature, or any other labour whose outcome is not speedy, is
seldom undertaken ; this is by no means entirely due to listless-
ness, but to the fear, often well grounded, that they may not
reap the result of their labours. They may be dispossessed
by a stronger man, they may, meanwhile, have to migrate to
some distant part, or they may die in the meantime. Custom,
again, plays a great part in determining the actions of the
natives ; they do not like to be eccentric, and what is customary
becomes a law for all. Thus are perpetuated the uncomfortable
• fashions of tattooing the body, the wearing of heavy brass
rings round the ankles, the filing or knocking out of teeth,
circumcision, the going bare-foot, &c.
We are so accustomed to the phrase " sack-cloth and ashes "
in connection with the funeral rites of some eastern nations, that
we seldom think of it as a filthy, disgusting mode of expressing
sorrow. The Congo custom is almost identical ; the natives rub
themselves in the soil and wear their dirtiest garments for several
days after the death of a relative, presenting a shockingly dirty
figure. One has to think it strange that they cannot mourn in a
more cleanly fashion, but such is the custom, and no one can
change it. If a trader perform a friendly service a few times
for a native, it becomes looked on as a custom, and is forthwith
expected as a right. Small need to say that gratitude is very
rarely exhibited by the natives, when every favour, is so soon
looked on as a matter of course.
The Fiote are untiring beggars, even amongst themselves, and
on obtaining what they ask, they go away without saying "thank
you."
Hospitality is well developed among the better classes, and
the parting guest always expects a present.
Parental affection is better developed than might be expected
among races where descent is reckoned through females. Where
relationship of father and son is fully known or firmly believed
in, fathers are affectionate to their children, and mothers
uniformly so. Conversely, children are respectful and obedient
to their parents, allowing always a certain amount of latitude
for boyish wilfulness.
220 E. C. PHILLIPS.— The Lower Congo ;
Although I have considered the emotional nature low, there is
a remarkable exception, the sentiment of public justice. In any
dealings with the natives, if a European suffer aggression, and
can clearly prove that such is the case, he is certainly adjudged
to be in the right, and the offender condemned to a penalty
which is assessed by the natives and the European : and further,
if a chief promise that such and such a fine shall be paid, his
word is in all cases sufficient. I have never known an instance
where this statement fails, and the fact is the more remarkable
as the chiefs present are not one whit better than the culprit,
nor are the other natives who join in condemning him. How
this extraordinary trait could have been evolved during a de-
velopment from a lower form than the present, I am at a loss
to understand ; it seems more likely to be an outstanding
remnant of a higher state, of which we find other vestiges.
In intellect we find the same stunted development as with
the emotions; the relation of cause and effect, in all but the
most patent and mechanical of cases, being beyond their grasp.
Here again, custom rules ; just as many a school-boy performs
operations with fractions thus and thus because he has been told
to do so, and believes the answer will be right because it is the
rule, so the natives attribute known effects to the most inade-
quate causes, inadequate both quantitatively and qualitatively.
Let us take a case. Some years ago, the chigoes, or bur-
rowing fleas, were imported from Brazil ; let us ask a Kabinda
what is said as to their origin.
He will probably say they have come because the King of
Kabinda is not yet buried (a man who died forty or fifty years
ago), and nothing will persuade him to the contrary. You may
point out that in Loango, where the king is still alive the
chigoes are just as bad, or that they are as troublesome in
Ambriz, where the Portuguese hold the land ; nothing will alter
his belief.
Again, a certain drought in Landana was attributed to the
missionaries wearing a certain kind of cap during service : the
natives said that this stopped the rain, a great outcry that the
missionaries must leave the country was raised, and things
looked really threatening. The missionaries showed the native
princes their garden, that their cultivation was being ruined for
want of water, and asked if it was probable that they would
spoil their own crops ; the natives remained unconvinced, and
only when the rains at length fell plentifully did the excitement
subside. The capacity for the lower intellectual acts of perception,
recognition, memory, &c., is well developed, and appears early in
childhood ; in this respect the natives are much on a par with
the civilised races, but the limit is reached early in life, and
a Sociological Study. 221
but little mental progress is observable after adolescence is
reached.
The ideas are mostly of the simpler forms, seldom passing the
concretes of actual experience, generalisations being, as a rule
beyond their power.
Association of ideas though good as implied by good memory,
only takes place in the concrete form of contiguity in time and
space as actually already perceived ; analogies are confined to
the crudest forms, and a very simple figure of speech is apt to
be unintelligible. Although the majority can fairly well explain
their ideas in Fiote or Portuguese, yet an attempt at literal
translation is soon given up in despair ; a simple thing like the
conjugation of a verb in Fiote, when the Portuguese is repeated
to them, being usually beyond their powers. They soon com-
plain of headache, and call to their companions to assist them.
The fundamental act of intelligence, the intuition of likeness
and unlikeness, is very circumscribed; and high acts of intellect
are thereby negatived.
How then, it may be asked, are decisions of public justice to
be formed in the absence of extended intelligence? The answer
is, that each case is judged on its own merits, and by the
recognised customs of the country. Moreover, the issues are
seldom of a complicated nature, so not much difficulty arises on
this score.
An accompanying trait is the absence of rational surprise ; on
seeing something new a vacant wonder is all that is observable,
and this is very transient, and the new experience is classified
as " white man's fashion." It almost follows as a matter of
course that there is no curiosity, no wish to enquire into the
cause of a novel experience ; it never occurs to the native that
there is a cause of the novelty or an explanation required. In
like manner there is almost total absence of theorising about
natural phenomena. It is worth while to here remark that
these traits in the intellectual and emotional nature constitute
an immense obstacle to missionary effort, and no striking results
in this direction can be expected; nay, the wonder is that
anything can be done for the elevation of the native.
Let us now examine some of the native ideas, and 1 think it
will be seen that the present are the outcome of a forgotten past
system, a ruinous heap showing where a former editice had been
reared.
Take first the wizard, the ndochi, as he is called.
No theory of occult art or magic, no diabolical attributes will
enable us to understand the native's ideas on this subject. The
only thing he knows, or thinks he knows, is that the ill-will
of some people is physically detrimental to others.
VOL. XVII. Q
222 E. C. PHILLIPS. — The Lower Congo;
These people are called ndochi, translated wizards or witches,
but their power is supposed to be a natural attribute, if we may
use the term where the natural and supernatural are not con-
trasted. The anatomical structure of the ndochi is supposed
to be peculiar, and his baneful influence is inborn, though
developed afterwards.
This power may exist without the knowledge of the possessor,
and may equally produce its evil effects without his knowledge.
It would appear also that if any ordinary person only become
envious and spiteful enough, he may develop into the ndochi,
though formerly innocent enough. Thus misfortune, disease,
and death are generally attributed to the ill-will of some ndochi,
and it becomes of importance to detect and destroy these
dangerous people. This is done by means of a poison ordeal ;
the bark of a leguminous tree, called nkasa, is ground to powder,
and a given dose is administered to the suspected person ; it has
three modes of action, as an emetic, a purge, or a toxic, causing
death by coma.
The first of these effects indicates innocence, the others guilt.
The belief in the efficacy of this ordeal is capable of a perfectly
natural explanation, but as it is never inquired into by the
native, it is not necessary to dwell on it here. But again, the
tree is not looked on as possessing supernatural properties, but
simply as possessing this valuable property, just as other trees
possess other valuable properties. Prophylactics are also re-
quired against the ndochi ; these are found in various charms, of
which the natives, more especially the women, wear a profusion.
The charm may have had its origin in mummy-worship, as has
been ably contended, but the black man does not puzzle himself
with what does not concern him, he only wears them, which is
enough for his purpose.
The charm, or fetish, has outgrown the limit of protecting the
wearer from the ndochi class ; there are magical images for the
discovery of thieves ; the repression of drunkenness and other
social obliquities ; the registration of oaths and contracts. For
petty thief-catching, a form of ordeal by fire is in great repute.
These beliefs, Spencer shows, are absent in the most degraded
tribes of savages, and do not make their appearance until a
considerable development has taken place. The disappearance
of all theory, while the forms remain, seems to indicate a
degeneracy from a higher development. Indeed, in the absence
of a written literature, it is probable that the past of any tribe
of uncivilized people would reveal, could it be known, many
fluctuations in development — sometimes progressing, at other
times retrogressing.
As to the religious and theological ideas of the Fiote, they
a Sociological Study. 223
recognise the existence of Zambi, the son of Mpungu, the
daughter of Dezu, as a supreme being. Zambi is supposed to
be somewhere in the sky, but whether Mpungu and Dezu are
now alive nobody seems to know or care.
Some of the missionaries consider this account as inexact,
their information being that Zambi Mpungu is one being ; what
they make of Dezu I do not exactly know. Probably we are
both right ; our information is drawn from somewhat different
sources, and the native ideas are so uncertain that probably both
theories are held.
The one I have adopted is perhaps a corrupt form of the
teaching of the old Catholic missionaries, Dezu being a corrup-
tion of Deus, and the importance of the Virgin has led to
the feminine form as adopted by my informants. However, no
great importance would attach to a correct rendering of the
doctrine of the Trinity, as no worship is paid in any form ; it is
merely a piece of useless knowledge, a relic of former days.
During an epidemic of small pox, I often heard say that
Zambi (never Zambi Mpungu) is a bad person, wanting to kill
everybody.
It is some little comfort to the missionaries that there is no
complicated polytheistic system to get rid of, as that could not
fail to greatly increase the difficulty of their labours.
Some natives are inclined to believe in a future life, but lay
no stress on it. The tales of ghosts seem to prove it, but on
the other hand these ghosts are a malignant class of beings who
may never have been alive at all, and who now lead a wretched
kind of existence ; so the hope is that good people will not have
this infliction after death, but rest quietly in their graves.
The graves of kinsfolk are not revisited. I at one time
thought that this was due to indifference, but now attribute it
to another cause. I once offered a woman the portrait of her
deceased son, which she refused to my astonishment. She
explained that she should cry whenever she saw it, so she
preferred not to have it.
The magicians employed as rain-makers, makers of charms,
and doctors, perform certain rites that seem to be propitiation of
superior powers or ghosts ; but inquiry only confirms the view
that they are shreds and patches remaining from a time when
they really were such, but from which the significance has
departed, leaving the bare form.
Let us now pass on to the consideration of the social structure,
first confining ourselves to those features which have remained
practically unaltered for a long period, and afterwards tracing
the changes that have of late years arisen.
i The foundation of the social system is the family, consisting
Q 2
224 E. C. PHILLIPS.— The Lower Congo ;
of the head man or patriarch, his wives, family proper, depen-
dents, and slaves.
The dependent class consists of poor free people who attach
themselves to the strong man for protection, and in return
acknowledge his authority. It is necessary to belong in some
form to some man of influence and respect, or the individual is
open to depredation on all sides and obtains the support of none.
There are also quasi slaves, having been delivered over by their
families as hostages for debt — for litigation between families
ultimately takes the form of debt — and as it frequently happens
that payment is delayed, or even impossible, these dependents
remain all their life under the authority of the new master.
Their condition is, however not worse than before, and they are
indifferent as to their ownership. The only claim on them is a
part of their earnings, which in any case they would have to
make over to somebody or other.
The consideration of the slave class is a convenient point at
which to take up the historical part of the subject, I shall
therefore proceed to relate their condition in the slave trading
times, and point out the changes which have since taken place.
Going back, then, say thirty years or more, we find the slave
trade in full force ; the wealthy natives possessing a large
number of slaves strictly domestic, and not destined for sale.
Besides these, they purchased such as were brought from the
interior for export ; these were procured by the interior tribes
in various ways, some doubtless by slaving raids on their neigh-
bours, others made over for debt, others again were criminals,
waifs, and slaves of those who, by misfortune, or otherwise, were
unable to support them. The slave raids were probably confined
to the interior tribes, the coast natives preferring to buy rather
than capture them.
The export slaves were of the apathetic nature of slaves as we
now find them ; they were not seriously troubled at the thought
of changing owners, the only dread being that they were wanted
for food in the country across the water. This fear was often
dispelled by the accounts of slaves who had been in America or
Cuba, and who gave them accounts of a good time in their new
homes.
The chief trade carried on by the whites was in slaves, that
being the most lucrative article of commerce ; there were large
barracoons where the export slaves awaited transport ; the white
men having their staff of domestic slaves to attend to the well-
being of the passengers. I have been acquainted with several
natives who were thus employed, who possessed a very fair
knowledge of medicines useful in the prevalent diseases of the
natives. The slavers well knew that more was gained by letting
a Sociological Study. 225
the export slaves rest and amuse themselves than by requiring
them to work, and besides this there was little or no work for
them to do.
They thus lived a life of unrestraint, free from care, as long as
it lasted, the hardship of the slave's life commencing with the
horrible middle passage, where they endured the hardships that
are so well known. It is a belief with many that the English
cruisers made an end of the slave trade : no notion could be
more erroneous, they prevented many from arriving at their
destination, and by forcing the slavers to overcrowd the ships
increased the hardships of the remainder, but probably not one
slave the less was exported in consequence of the blockade, but
probably more than would have otherwise been required were
obtained to fill the places of the unsuccessful shipments. The
profits were such that one successful run out of five would
insure a profit, and the comparatively few arrivals in America
kept up the demand. The death of the slave trade was the
cessation of the demand ; that and that only prevented the
traffic existing to-day. For there is now no slave trade on the
Congo, it is confined to the east coast, and in a restricted form to
the Portuguese colony of Angola. It is the custom for Portuguese
apologists to exclaim that there is no slave trade in their
possessions ; well, we need not quarrel about names, and it seems
best to confess that there is a relative gain to the slave by being
in the hands of a white master. I can testify with tolerable
certainty that the life of the slave is better and more tolerable
under the civilised master than under the native, and the demand,
if the supply be not checked, is probably not greater than the
surplus population, the natural increase of the slave class
being sufficient to supply the demand without raids being
resorted to.
The native family at the time we have been considering, will
thus be seen to be a combination of considerable power, and
mutual antagonism may well be conjectured ; this was to a great
degree prevented by the marriage customs. The natives are
polygamous, and the usual consequences followed.
It is a mistaken opinion that in a polygamous society most
men have more than one wife : the relative numbers of the sexes
forbids the arrangement being extended to the whole population ;
really only the wealthier can indulge in a plurality of wives, the
poorer having to be content with one or often with none.
Thus the heads of the families were they who for the most
part had a plurality of wives, and the marriage laws made it
forbidden to marry a relative either by birth or by previous mar-
riage : thus each family became widely connected by marriage
with as many other families as the head man had wives, and so
226 It. C. PHILLIPS.— The Lower Congo;
a vast network of relationship connected the different families.
These families, sometimes singly, sometimes two or more to-
gether, formed the villages, or towns, as they are generally
called, so the towns became all more or less related to each
other. This prevented the constant broils which otherwise
would have surely taken place ; things were settled sometimes
with a little fighting it is true, but seldom with serious dis-
turbances. As superior authority there were the kings who
presided over considerable districts, and sundry officers who had
charge of sub-sections, these were the Mambukus, each having
his Kapita, Mankaka, and sundry other petty officers.
The whites were admitted to residence and trade on payment
of blackmail to the neighbouring chiefs, and were then con-
sidered in most, if not in all respects, entitled to the same
respect as the free men themselves : they were considered as
naturalised inhabitants of the country. This blackmail, in
return for which the trader was promised the friendship of the
surrounding tribes, went and still goes by the name of customs :
there was a stipulated amount paid for establishing in the
dominions of a given king, and so much paid quarterly, half-
yearly, or yearly to the neighbouring chiefs in each branch
establishment while open. Establishments might be transferred
from one trader to another, but if abandoned the land reverted
to the natives. The tenure of land among the natives was as
follows : — The neighbouring towns agreed among themselves as
to the division of land for planting or building, and as such, the
head of the town had the authority to grant a location to a white
settler, but land was never the private property of any one
native. At the time of which we are treating, certain firms
located themselves in the districts for the purpose of legitimate
trade, and so by the side of the slavers there grew the origin of
the commerce as it at present exists : the domestic slaves of the
natives learned to extract oil for export, to grow ground-nuts,
and prepare rubber and other articles of commercial value. The
chiefs provided them with food and clothing, and claimed the
produce of their labour.
With the cessation of the slave trade, the chiefs became
poorer, and the whole of the working population was turned to
produce and to sell to the whites, the more intelligent of the
slaves acting for their masters.
A class of brokers also arose, as natives from a distance were
wishful to bring produce to the factories for barter, in order to
obtain at first hand the articles they most needed. The general
population then awoke to the fact that they might as well do
business on their own account and not entirely for their masters.
The chiefs, growing always poorer, could at last no longer pro-
a Sociological Study. 227
vide food and clothing for the slaves, who had to shift for them-
selves as they best could. Their exertions became more and
more on their own account, and less and less for their
masters, the demands of the latter being resisted on the very
reasonable grounds that they must first support themselves and
then give a something towards the support of the masters. Thus
the power gradually passed into the hands of the people,
leaving ever less and less to the chiefs. Custom however, pre-
served to these the chief voices in political matters ; they re-
mained the body convening public meetings, and were" the chief
deliberative body, the populace usually confining themselves to
signifying their assent or the reverse. The whites retained
their status in return for payment of their customs, and had the
same voice as before in such questions as concerned them.
Disputes with the natives were generally easily settled,
though in rare cases the assistance of European force has been
obtained. Better were it, had the traders been given to under-
stand that no help whatever would be given them, come what
might; I have generally found that reliance on governmental
incerference has resulted in arrogance leading to disputes which
have ended in loss of trade and expense and humiliation to
the traders, coupled with injustice to the natives. For the
natives have no chance of making their side of a question
known, and are judged to be in the wrong without due reason,
but that does not prevent loss to the trader, for the social state
being disturbed, trade is diverted to other parts, at times for
considerable periods.
Something should be said on the former piratical habits of
certain of the river tribes.
In the islands near the mouth of the river there are towns
which, from their isolated position, are out of the lines of trade :
in former times they developed piratical habits to the great
annoyance and detriment of the traders ; vessels were plundered,
but no one was killed unless they offered resistance to the
attacking parties. In consequence of this, some years ago, a
demonstration was made by the English, which appears to have
had a good effect — at any rate, I believe the practice of piracy
has been altogether given up. I could, however, mention a Portu-
guese trader, who maintained an attitude suited to those times,
as owner of a large number of domestic slaves, who enjoyed a
complete immunity from these attacks; and who, generally
ready to help others in want of assistance, has done more than
all the European governments to put down piracy in the river.
Some firms, fearful of ill-repute at home, have left themselves
open to these attacks, and suffered much loss through them, and
now that the necessity has passed, they underrate the efforts of
228 R C. PHILLIPS.— The Lower Congo ;
their more daring neighbours, and would point to an English
naval demonstration as the cure of the evil. These piracies
have long been a thing of the past, and a recurrence does not
seem at all likely.
Of late years several missions have been established in our
midst, and have been pushed far higher up the river than the
traders have yet gone ; their influence is not very apparent, nor
should it be expected to rapidly show itself, from the very
nature of the material on which it has to work.
The most rapid growth is the tumour, a diseased formation
tending to the destruction of the body, so I greatly suspect it
will be with the conversion of these heathens ; slow, sound
progress is the proper progress, and if that be going on, as 1
believe, it is wise to be patient, and persevere in faith. Accounts
reach me of rapid progress at Banza Mantika, halfway up the
road between Stanley Pool and Matadi, just as ten years ago I
was informed of rapid progress at Benin River : as this last has
.shown itself illusive, so I expect will the former.
Unpopularity of a chief may cause a tribe to desert him, they
congregating round a mission station, but this cannot be expected
to last : some necessary regulation of the missionary's may cause
the dispersion of the new converts.
But to say, as some say or imply, that missionary effort is a
failure, I deem ignorant and presumptuous. I think, however,
that they should be more in our midst, and not all crowd into
the upper river where freight on goods runs away with much
wealth that might be much better employed.
The supporters of missions at home think that the coast
natives have been so debased with the spirits sold them by the
traders, that no effort can prevail to better them. This is far
from the actuality however; the traders would have but a poor
chance of doing trade were the coast tribes so bad as they have
been represented. It may serve to explain native habits and
manners to relate the following incident : —
Having an excellent cook who was at times intemperate, I
sent for his chief, and after the usual greeting, addressed him
somewhat as follows : — " See this cook of yours, everybody
knows he is the best cook in the country, yet he is becoming a
useless fellow. 1 cannot get anything properly cooked, as I find
him drunk and incapable, instead of minding his work. He has
already been discharged four or five times from this factory for
intemperance, and each time he goes to town he remains until
he has spent all his cloth for mm, and then he begs his in-
dustrious neighbours to feed him. He has the mark of an
old cut on his forehead where Senhor Fulano hit him with a
soup-tureen for spoiling the dinner, and if he goes on in
a, Sociological Study. 229
this way he will fall into the river and the crocodiles will have
him.
" Now I want you to bring a fetish and knock it that he shall
not drink any intoxicating drink as long as he remains in my
service. I will pay the cost of the fetish, but bring it along
early, or this fellow will spoil my dinner." The chief replied,
" Yes, sir, you are quite right, he is a good-for-nothing fellow, he
is of no use to us in town, and of no use to the white men : we
will bring the fetish as you request, and hope he will give you
no further trouble." The fetish was brought, a nail was driven
in, and the nuisance put an end to. As long as the nail remains
in the figure, the man believes that breaking the law gives the
fetish the power to kill him, and he therefore behaves himself 011
pain of death. He could buy the removal of the nail, but at
great cost, which he cannot afford, for though it costs but
little to put a nail into a fetish, it is expensive to get it out again.
An interesting relic of former development is found in the
Kabinda class of people, called Ndunga, a set of masked and
disguised men, who have license to steal anything that they can
lay their hands on without disclosing their identity, and who
may kill anyone who succeeds in identifying them. They were
formerly appointed as secret agents of the king to gather in-
formation, and to accuse powerful masters who were unjust to
their inferiors. This they could do with safety, while preserving
their incognito, and so great was their usefulness that they were
held justified in the use of any means to preserve their cha-
racter. They dress in a large cloak of leaves that falls from the
crown of the head to the feet, and wear a mask on the top of all,
thus having a gigantic and terrible appearance. They disguise
their voices when speaking to outsiders, so that no one can tell
with whom he is speaking. When returning to the town, they
leave their cloaks in the bush, hidden away in a safe hiding-
place. With the rise of popular power, they have had less and
less work to do : to-day they have only left them their privileges
and some connection with rain-making. So it too often happens,
institutions survive when the need which called them into
existence has disappeared.
A few other examples of native manners and customs may be
of interest. I will give one concerning inheritance, which is
rather curious.
It has already been said that descent is reckoned through
females, the meaning of this may not be clear to all. If a man
die, the bulk of his property goes to his sister's son, not to his
son ; the reason being that of the blood-relationship of the
nephew there can be no doubt, but the descent of the son may
be questioned.
230 E. C. PHILLIPS. — Tlie Lower Congo ;
The nephew is, therefore, looked on as a nearer relative than
the son, and he is the heir, and should he die, more grief is felt
than in the case of the son.
A strange exception is made when a man marries a slave of
his : the son then ranks first in this case, as the natives say that
he is not only presumably the next-of-kin by birth, but also by
purchase, as the mother belonged to the father.
Did this rule not hold, the son would become his cousin's
slave, which the natives see would be absurd and unjust.
Slaves can buy slaves for themselves, and often become men of
importance ; in Ambrizette some of the wealthiest and most
influential men are slaves without masters. The masters have
become extinct, and the slaves carry on their trade without
hindrance, having their own towns and slaves just as have the
free men. The only difference observable is that the slave
traders are not allowed to wear silk or coral, and if they
become " too saucy " as the free men term it, they are reminded
that such conduct is unbecoming in slaves, and that they ought
to be more respectful. They generally acknowledge the truth of
this, and fall into the background. A keen lawyer of the place
once explained to me : — " You see the pattern on that plate, you
cannot alter it, the white is made white and the black is made
black, and no one can change it. So it is with the slaves, they
are born so, and the free people are born free, and no man can
make it not so."
Honesty is not conspicuous, but the following occurrence is
worth relating: — One morning two strangers presented them-
selves with a bag of palm kernels and told me that their chief
had been shot in a quarrel, but before he died he told one of
them that he had long owed me a bag of palm kernels for goods
advanced on credit, and he was wishful to pay me.
The messenger had scarcely started when the other joined him
with the news that the prince was dead. So they both brought
me the news and the payment.
APPENDIX.
The Origin of Ordeals.
The origin of charms, whether trivial objects worn by indi-
viduals, or the more imposing magical images of the Fiote, has
received much discussion ; I need scarcely remind you that
much of the first volume of Herbert Spencer's " Sociology " is
devoted to this and cognate questions ; I do not, however,
remember having seen any attempt to explain the origin of
ordeals by poison or by fire.
a Sociological Study. 231
The belief in these ordeals is, or has been, very widely dis-
tributed in space and in time, and it appears to me that we are
bound to seek its origin.
This is also true of the belief in the evil influence of the
people known as witches, in the sense in which the uncivilised
employ the term.
It appears safe to conclude that in the normal conditions of
savages, widely scattered over the face of the earth, there must
have been from time to time circumstances which would lead
them to infer bewitchment, and to point to these ordeals as the
remedy.
Can any such cause be now assigned, or is it lost for ever ? In
order to raise this question, I would submit the following attempt
at explanation, subject to the correction and criticism of any who
may be able to throw other light on the subject.
In a given body of savages, wherever situated, it will from
time to time happen that one is desirous of secretly destroying
some other of the number.
Open violence may be inadmissible, and the only likely
method is to poison him.
Of poisons known to savages, all are vegetal, and not in the
form of alkaloids or tinctures, but in the crude form of leaves,
seeds, and bark.
Many such substances must be known to savages, but other
difficulties present themselves ; the poisons must not be too
nauseous, and their quantity requires regulating to avoid vomit-
ing on the one hand, and a dose that will only derange and not
kill on the other. These difficulties are not easily overcome, and
such attempts to poison will often fail.
But though success be not easy, suspicion will almost
inevitably be aroused; two, three, or more find themselves
simultaneously sick after eating together, or they observe an
unaccountable flavour with their food, and they will be sure
that someone has attempted to poison them. Circumstantial
evidence will often indicate the culprit ; he has been seen lurk-
ing about the cooking-pot ; he is known to be at enmity with his
fellows, or strange beans or bark are found in his possession.
What is more natural than for him to be forced to partake of
the same food ? And will not the others see that he eats his fill,
if so much be left ?
The physiological effect of fear, as far as I am able to hear, is
a surexcitation of the vagus nerve, inhibiting the heart's action,
and so checking the circulation of the blood. Other conse-
quences must follow, among which is the stoppage of the flow of
saliva, and paralysis of the muscular coats of the stomach.
For this last reason, the culprit will be unable to vomit, and
232 E. C. PHILLIPS.— The Lower Congo ;
the poison will produce its full therapeutic effect, be that coma,
drastic purging, or other.
What will strike the attention of the spectators is the
peculiarity that the culprit cannot vomit, and his confession, or
the independent knowledge of his guilt will lead them to con-
clude that poisoners cannot vomit such and such a poison.
But out of several poisons some one or two will produce
more marked emetic effects on people in general than will
the other drugs : these will then be looked on as excellent tests
of guilt, the emetic effect proving innocence, the absence proving
guilt.
This theory, once started, will not rest at this stage ; it will be
concluded that the poisonous or non-emetic effect is produced
not by the previous action of the individual of letting fall a
certain substance into a pot, but by the fact of the criminal
intention.
Thus it would soon be a current belief that not only actual
poisoners, but also would-be poisoners, could be discovered by
this ordeal.
Much further growth is now possible. A given person, feel-
ing himself sick, thinks he is poisoned. Suspecting an enemy,
he denounces him, and makes him undergo the ordeal. The
suspected person fails to vomit, thereby showing that he is at
any rate a would-be poisoner, but he persists to the last that he
has actually done nothing whatever against his neighbour.
After his death, the sick man recovers. This is often the case,
ailments far oftener disappear than end fatally, but for ignorant
savages there is nothing irrational in their coupling together
their recovery and the death of their enemy, and thence arguing
that their illness was caused by the enmity.
Thus might spring the idea of the ndochi or witch, who simply
by the fact of his ill-will causes sickness or misfortune to others,
who can, however, be tried, condemned, and executed in a safe
and convenient way, by poison-ordeal, with presumably little
chance of poisoning the wrong man.
Is there any collateral evidence to support this theory? I
think so ; the natives inform me that the powdered bark is
easily swallowed by innocent people, but with difficulty by
criminals ; this is probably in consequence of the non-secretion
of saliva already referred to.
A similar phenomena is observable in the Malay ordeal of
chewing rice ; the criminal cannot moisten his mouthful but
spits it out in a dry condition.
The ordeal of the hot knife affords further evidence : — A
suspected person bares his leg, and after a few magical rites
receives three slaps on the calf with a hot knife.
a Sociological Study. 233
If the circulation of the blood be stopped the heat of the knife
cannot get drafted away at the same rate as would otherwise be
the case, and the individual will be burned. This ordeal is in high
repute to discover petty thieves, and probabty with justice. It
is suggested that the magician regulates the heat of the knife to
burn whom he will, but I have seen cases when this was certainly
not the case ; the knife made the man's horny hand smoke as lie
tried the temperature before applying the test to each individual,
yet on one occasion he failed to burn any out of thirteen youths.
He went away declaring them all innocent, which afterwards
proved to be the case. Yet so great was the heat, that, although
not actually burned at the moment, in two or three days all but
one had raw legs !
Did the magician burn whom he chose, he would make many
mistakes of omission or commission, and his fraud would be of
short duration.
Another ordeal, consisting of eating mandioca, a staple food,
from the mouth of a fetish, causes the body to swell up con-
siderably ; if this swelling be also a secondary effect of fear, we
may be on the right track to discover why of old witches would
not drown.1
Without further speculation on these matters, I would remark
that it is well known to the natives and to the whites residing
in their midst, that these ordeals are usually successful in bring-
ing many delinquencies home to their perpetrators : if this be
admitted, and not rejected without examination as impossible,
further research is a duty, and a more interesting one could
hardly be found.
Description of Plate V.
Map of the Lower Congo, showing the position of the various
localities mentioned in the foregoing paper.
DISCUSSION.
Mr. E. DELMAR MORGAN, in making some remarks on the collec-
tion of objects exhibited from the Congo, before the reading of the
paper, spoke as follows : —
I will endeavour as shortly as possible to give you my impres-
sions of the Congo and its people as I found them four years ago.
The office of Administrator for the International Association
which devolved upon me after the severe illness of Sir Frederic
Goldsmid, gave me opportunities for observing the natives, the more
1 The phenomenon of swelling is exemplified in the Mosaic ordeal (Numbers
v, 21). 1 am uot prepared to hazard any explanation of the other symptoms
here mentioned.
234 Discussion.
so as the special object of our journey was to endeavour to bring
about a good understanding between them and the Association.
At every halt we made in our progress up the river it was our
practice to invite the chief men of every village to a conference, or
what is known in Africa as a palaver, to which they invariably
came bringing a few gifts such as fowls, a goat or two, a bunch of
bananas, or some other fruit, and occasionally specimens of native
industry. In return we on our side bestowed on them a few yards
of cloth, calico, or bright-coloured handkerchiefs, blankets, beads,
&c., together with the blue flag of the Association which they were
expected to hoist at their villages. At these palavers I was obliged
to remain a passive though interested spectator, the talking being
all done by the Belgian officer who accompanied us.
The natives are usually great talkers, emphasizing their speech
by clicking the tongue or by cracking the joints of their fingers, a
practice also followed by the interpreters employed by the Europeans
in their dealings with them. On one occasion the audience, seated
in a circle round their spokesman repeated after him in chorus
the two last syllables of each sentence or parenthesis ; apparently
their way of signifying approbation just as we might say, " Hear,
hear." The effect of this was to lend a rhythm to the discourse.
The orator, aged and experienced, wore an old military tunic, and
had a military cap on his head, giving him a droll appearance,
and the burden of his speech was a review of the intercourse
between the blacks and Bulo Matadi's (Stanley's) white men.
Next to him sat a chief with a necklace of leopard's teeth, a bunch
of feathers stuck on his head, and brass armlets. Many of them
carried old-fashioned muskets, known as trade-guns, the stocks
ornamented with brass nails. But the insignia, of the chiefs on the
Lower Congo were more often long staffs studded with brass nails
or with a tuft of hair fastened to the handle ; a small bell held in
the hand, and continually tinkling on the march, sometimes formed
part of the equipment.
The first natives I came across on the Lower Congo were the
Mussorongos, or Mushirongos, inhabiting both banks from the
mouth upwards for about 60 miles, as well as the swampy islands.
They are fishermen, but some few may be seen at work in the
European factories. The Mussorongos are well known to the
officers of Her Majesty's ships, and of other vessels visiting the
mouth of the river, and they are frequently mentioned in the Blue
Books ; they are physically a degenerate race, and have the un-
enviable notoriety of being pirates.
The Kabindas I first saw at Vivi. They come from the coast
a little to the north of the Congo, and are paler skinned than the
negro. The Kabindas too are tall, well made, with good features,
the women being graceful and occasionally pretty. Having come
under the influence of the Portuguese they are more intelligent than
the people farther inland. Hence they are useful as intermediaries
between Europeans and the natives, though inferior to the Zanzi-
baris trained in the English missions on the east coast. Another
Discussion. 235
race -whom I shall mention are the Krumen who were at the time
of my visit in the service of the Association. Their home is on the
west coast between Cape Palmas and Cape Three Points, and they
claim to be the rightful owners of Liberia. The Krumen or
Kruboys are thick set, powerful men quite black in colour. They
hire themselves out to the captains of trading steamers, and make
themselves useful when the white crews are overcome by heat and
attacks of fever.
Turning to the natives of the Congo proper — those on the lower
river are a mixture of Bakongos or Basongos, Babwendes, Batekes,
and other tribes of the upper districts. These are distinguishable
from one another by their tattoo marks and other peculiarities, to
be recognized by the experienced eye. Their language is the
Bakongo dialect of the Piote tongue spoken with variations right
across Africa from east to west, and generally known as the " Bantu,"
a word signifying "people." Their dress in the districts more acces-
sible from the sea coast shows that European intercourse is gradually
changing their primitive habits. Thus the Kabindas wear shirts
and even jackets and trowsers ; the Congo tribes a waistcloth of
calico or only of reeds or grass cloth, but the chiefs are beginning
to cover their shoulders with coloured blankets or some gaudy
piece of stuff, and military coats are much in fashion. In the
higher districts above Stanley Pool the villagers wore hardly any
covering, tlieir black skins being often smeared with palm oil and
occasionally dyed red or painted in a grotesque fashion.
The tattoo marks of the Babwendes form a lozenge shape on the
forehead, those of the Batekes are arranged in lines on both cheeks
and on the breast. It has been remarked by a recent writer (Dr.
Chavanne) that tattooing is regarded by the natives as a protection
against their fetish or evil spirit. They have a great love of orna-
ments, brass rings worn on the arms and legs being most common.
Some of these rings are very heavy, and I have seen women, so
heavily weighted with leg rings as to be hardly able to walk. I
remember a queen of the Wavunias with a brass collar round her
neck weighing from 16 to 20 Ibs., and compelling her every now
and then to lie down and rest, these ornaments being permanently
fixed on, so that the expression "// faut snffrir pour etre belle" applies
among African women as well as among their European sisters. I
do not know whether they are taken off after death. Beads are
much prized by this people, so much so as to be the currency in
some parts of the country. Strings of beads form the only dress
of girls and infants, the colours varying in different districts.
Earrings are always worn, and among men the custom of piercing
the cartilage of the nose and inserting a piece of bone is common.
But one of the most striking peculiarities is the mode of dressing
the hair in large chignons standing out from the head and well
oiled.
Their diet is chiefly a vegetable one — the cassava or manioc
being the staple food. They also eat bananas and other fruits.
The men file the front teeth to a point which adds considerably to
236 Discussion.
\
their savage appearance. Their voices are rough and uncontrolled,
and are singularly harsh and unpleasing to the ear. Their arms
are long in proportion to their bodies, enabling them to climb the
tall stems of the palms like apes. It is curious to watch the wav in
which they collect the palm wine or malafu. A wyth is passed
round the tree and the body of the man, the ends being tied in a
knot. Placing his feet against the tree and supported bv the wyth
the man ascends with remarkable ease and celerity to where the
gourds are fastened, some 20 or 30 feet above the ground, when
he pours the contents of the gourd into another taken up with him
for that purpose and descends in the same agile way.
The religion of the people of the Congo is a low fetishism accom-
panied by all kinds of superstitions, and amongst others ancestral
worship. On the graves of their chiefs are placed bits of broken
pottery and little figures rudely carved, and it is customary to bury
with the chief the cloth acquired by him during his life. In
Bonny, on the Niger, I saw the "juju" house, with its rows of
skulls and other sacrificial offerings, but this was reported to be no
longer used as a place of worship, and the priest had ceased to
officiate at Old Kalaba (Calabar), the juju house had been destroyed
through the influence of the missionaries, though fetishism was
said to be secretly practised and the bodies of human victims
offered up in sacrifice frequently floated down the river. The
barbarous superstition which led to the extermination of twins had
also been stopped by the efforts of the same missionaries. But
these and many other barbarities are said to be practised on the
Upper Congo to this day. Nor have the natives on the lower river
advanced much in civilisation. Commerce has indeed taught them
to value the white man's fire-water, his guns, his cloth, and his
baubles; they are to some extent restrained by the fear of their
mysterious visitor, but they cannot understand his motives for
living among them, nor can they appreciate the advantages they may
derive from his presence. It will take generations of patient
missionaries wholly devoted to the task to open a brighter future
to the black races of the Congo.
Major-General Sir FREDERIC GOLDSMID, referring to the imple-
ments and weapons of war, musical instruments, articles of wearing
apparel, tusks and hides of animals, and other specimens from the
Congo, or West Coast of Africa, exhibited by him that evening,
stated that they had been, for the greater part, received by him
since his return to England in 1883. from Dr. Ralph Leslie, who,
together with Mr. Delmar Morgan, had accompanied him on his
expedition in that year. These gentlemen had, however, remained
in Africa when he himself had been compelled, through ill-health,
to embark for Europe. As a rule, a ticket was attached to each
specimen, explanatory of its purpose. Sir Frederic Goldsmid ad-
dressed a question to Mr. Phillips as to the longevity of the natives
of the Lower Congo. He hitnself had been struck by the few old
people he had seen there. Indeed, he had felt that he was not only
old enough to be father of most people he met, but in many
List of Presents. 237
instances the grandfather. It might have been morbid sensitive-
ness on his part, but he believed that few people in those regions
did attain old age, and the fact, if such it were, seemed sufficiently
important for record, in reference to climate, mode of life, &c.
The AUTHOR, in reply to Sir F. Goldsmid, said that the natives of
the Congo seldom attain a great age, but he could not definitely
say why. In answer to another inquiry he stated that combs, of
which one was exhibited, were not worn as ornaments, but were
used for combing the hair by both men and women. The use of
a " medicine-bag " seemed a mystery, until he explained that it
was to be worn round the arm as a charm.
NOVEMBER 22ND, 1887.
Prof. FLOWER, C.B., F.B.S., Vice-President, in the Chair.
The Minutes of the last meeting were read and signed.
The election of Miss HUDSON, of 71, Lancaster Gate, W.,
was announced.
The following presents received since the last meeting were
announced, and thanks voted to the respective donors : —
FOE THE LIBRARY.
From A. W. FRANKS, Esq., M.A'., F.R.S. — British Museum ; State-
ment of the progress and acquisitions made in the Depart-
ment of British and Mediaeval Antiquities and Ethnography
in the year 1886.
From the SUPERINTENDENT, GOVERNMENT CENTRAL MUSEUM, MADRAS.
— Administration Report for the year 1886-87.
From the GOVERNMENT OF NEW ZEALAND. — Results of a Census of
the Colony of New Zealand, taken for the night of the 28tli
March, 1886.
From the SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES. — Archseologia. Yol. L.
From the ESSEX FIELD CLUB. — The Essex Naturalist. No. 10.
From the ACADEMY. — Kongl. Vitterhets Historic och Antiqvitets
Akademiens Manadsblad. Nr. 169-171.
From the INSTITUTE. — Proceedings of the Canadian Institute. No.
148.
From the UNIVERSITY. — Mittheilungen aus der Medicinischen .
Facultat der Kaiserlich-Japanischen Universitiit. Band I,
No. 1.
— Journal of the College of Science, Imperial University, Japau.
Vol. I, Part 3.
VOL. XVII. R
238 CANON TAYLOK.— The Origin and
From the SOCIETY. — Journal of the Society of Arts. Nos. 1825.
1826.
Proceedings of the Philosophical Society of Glasgow. Vol.
xviii, 1886-87.
• Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan. Yol. xv, Part 2.
From the EDITOR. — Nature. Nos. 941, 942.
Science. Nos. 248, 249.
— Photographic Times. Nos. 320, 321.
Revue d'Anthropologie, 1887. No. 6.
L'Homme, 1887. Nos. 19, 20.
The following paper was read by the author : —
The OKIGIN and PRIMITIVE SEAT of the ARYANS.
By CANON ISAAC TAYLOR, LL.D., Litt.D.
CONTENTS.1
1. History of the Question. Views of Max Miiller, Latham, Geiger, Fick,
Pe'nka, Schrader 238-242
2. The Anthropological Argument. The Aryan Physical Type .. 243-246
3. Probable Direction of Migration ... ,. .. *.. .. 246-248
4. Physical Resemblance of Finnic and Aryan Types. . . . . . 248-250
5. Ancient Extension of the Finns . . . . . . . . . . 251
6. The Cradle of the Aryan Race 251-252
7. Philological Argument. Identity of Proto-Aryan and Proto-
Finnic Tongues 253-254
Grammatical Identity 254-258
Identity of Verbal Roots 259-262
Identity of Primitive Words 262-264
8. The Separation of Aryans and Finns .. .. .. .. 265-264
9. Linguistic Evidence as to the Civilization at the Time of the
Separation ' 265-269
THERE is no problem connected with anthropology, as to which
in recent years, scientific opinion has undergone such a revolu-
tion as the question as to the region in which the Aryan race
originated.
At the Manchester meeting of the British Association the
theory was advocated by myself and Prof. Sayce. which five
years ago would have been universally scouted, and yet it was
received with general assent.
Within the present century no less than four theories succes-
sively have held the field.
Only thirty-five years ago when I went in for my "little go" at
[' It should be explained that the author, having been abroad while this
paper was parsing through the press, has not had an opportunity of revising the
proof. — ED.]
Primitive Seat of the Aryans. 239
Cambridge, the worthy Examiner before whom it was my lot to
go up for my vivd voce examination shared the then common
belief, that the present inhabitants of Asia were descended from
Shem, those of Africa from Ham, and those of Europe from
Japhet ; the linguistic and ethnic diversities between Europeans,
Africans, and Asiatics having arisen on the plains of Shinar, in
the year 2247 B.C., as calculated by Archbishop Ussher.
This opinion, which at all events possesses the charm of de-
finiteiiess, was succeeded by the Caucasian hypothesis of Cuvier,
Blumenbach, and Peschel, which traced the Indo-European race
to Mount Ararat or the Caucasus, rather than to the Tower of
Babel, forgetful of the fact that mountain fastnesses are not
the cradles of races, but camps of refuge for the remnants of
shattered tribes, and that the cradles of races are great plains,
rivers, and valleys.
The Caucasian hypothesis was replaced by the Central Asian
theory, which has held its ground almost to this day.
It was advocated by Prof. Sayce in his "Principles of Philo-
logy," published in 1874, and also in his " Introduction to the
Science of Language," published in 1880, and was only surren-
dered in the third edition of that book, published in 1885, in
favour of that which I am about to place before you. I cannot
be far wrong in assuming that it is probably held by some of
those present in this room.
I cannot do better than state this theory in the words of one
who has done more than any other man to secure its acceptance
in this country.
Prof. Max Muller states his opinion that " before the ancestors
of the Indians and Iranians started for the South, and the leaders
of the Greek, Roman, Celtic, Teutonic, and Slavonic colonies
marched towards the shores of Europe, there was a small clan
of Aryans settled probably on the highest elevation of Central
Asia, speaking a language not yet Sanskrit or Greek or German,
but containing the dialectical germs of all." (Max Miiller's
" Lectures," vol. I, p. 212).
The spot where this small clan lived was, he thinks, " as far
east as the western slopes of the Belurtag and Mustag, near the
sources of the Oxus and Jaxartes, the highest elevation of
Central Asia." (Max Miiller's " Lectures," vol. I, 239).
This theory was stated by Prof. Sayce in his "Principles
of Philology," nearly in the same words. " When the Aryan
languages first make their appearance, it is in the highlands of
middle Asia between the sources of the Oxus and Jaxartes."
(Sayce, " Principles," p. 101).
The only real ground for this opinion, was the belief that
Zend and Sanskrit were nearer than any other languages to the
R 2
240 CANON TAYLOR. — The Origin and
primitive Aryan speech ; but now that this opinion has yielded
to further investigation, the deduction based upon it falls also to
the ground.
The theory, however, has had the support of the greatest
names in the last generation of scholars. It was held by Lassen,
Bopp, Pott, Jacob Grimm, and Prichard, and is still held by
Max Miiller, so no wonder, with such support, it met with almost
unquestioning acceptance.
A solitary protest was raised by Dr. Latham, who as early as
1862, urged that it was a mere assumption, destitute of any
shadow of proof, and without even a presumption in its favour.
He vainly challenged the production of any evidence in its
support ; but his voice was vox clamantis in eremo — he was set
down as an eccentric dreamer.
But at last the tide of reaction set in. Benfey in 1868
followed Latham with the philological argument that the un-
divided Aryans knew nothing of the palm or the tiger, but were
acquainted with the birch and the beech, the bear and the wolf,
which point to the temperate zone of climate, and more especially
to Northern Europe as their primitive home The beech
especially, is a lover of chalk soils, which 1 believe, are not
found westward of a line drawn from the Black Sea to the
Baltic.
In 1871 Geiger followed with the further argument that they
also were acquainted with the oak,1 and also with the character-
istic northern cereals, barley and rye, but not with wheat, a more
southern grain, and that they must have originated in some
northern region, as they had common names for snow and ice,
for winter and spring, but not for summer and autumn. Their
summer, therefore, must have been short, and their winter long.
He also followed Latham in the assertion that no solid argument
had yet been advanced in favour of the then accepted hypothesis
of an eastern origin.
Pick, followed and corrected by Prof. Wilkins, has also
shown that the primitive Aryan region was overgrown not
only by the oak, the beech, the elm, and the birch, but also
by the fir (puka), the primitive name of which was trans-
ferred in India to the betel nut palm.2 To the fauna known
by the primitive Aryans he added the wolf, the stag, the elk,
the hedgehog, the goose, the thrush, the crane, the starling, the
salmon, the eel, the wasp, and the bug. The cogency of the
1 The common name for the acorn is galandi, " that which falls," and from
this are derived in lands where there are no oaks the word for the testicles —
g lands.
2 Proto-Aryan, puka / Greek, -irsvKri ; Lithuanian, pusz-ies ; Old High German,
fiuk-ta ; German, fich-te ; English, fir; and Sanskrit, puff a, the betel nut palm.
Primitive Seat of the Aryans. 241
argument depending on these names does not rest on their being
common to the eastern and western Aryans, but on their use
by the European Aryans. It is impossible to suppose that
ancestors of the Kelts and the Slaves migrated from Central
Asia to Europe, and acquired these common words in Europe
after their separation from the Iranians and Indians, but before
their separation from each other. The separation of Kelts and
Slaves must date from a more remote period than the separation
of Slaves and Iranians.
The undivided Aryan race must have lived near a sea, where
the lobster, the seal and the oyster were found, and they possessed
some kind of boats or ships. They also had wheeled carriages,
implying that they came not from a mountainous region, but
from a plain, an inference confirmed by the conclusion, which
however, Prof. Wilkins doubts, that they had invented some
rude kind of plough.
These conditions limit us, in seeking for the cradle of the
Aryan race, to some well-wooded northern plain near the sea,
and west of a line from Riga or Konigsberg to the Black Sea ; or
if we include in the primitive Aryan fauna the eel, the salmon,
and the oyster, we shall have to place them as far west as the
Elbe.
A northern origin seems then to be certain, but why not
bring them from Northern Asia instead of Northern Europe ?
The answer is that the Aryan words common to the whole
race, such as the elm, the oak, and the beech point to the
fauna and flora of Europe, and not of Asia — certainly not
of Central Asia ; while an additional argument is that, as far
as we know, there are no Aryans there, or ever have been. The
neighbourhood of Lake Balkash, suggested by Pietreme'nt, has
always been the home of Mongolian races.
Writers of the new school incline with singular unanimity to.
a belief in the European origin of the Aryans. Peschel thinks
the primitive seat of the Aryans was somewhere in the neigh-
bourhood of the Caucasus ; Benfey places it in the plain of the
Volga ; Friedrich Miiller inclines to the south-east of Europe ;
Geiger to central and western Germany ; Cuno and Posche to
the central plain of Europe ; Latham to Podolia or Volhynia,
south-east of the Lithuanians. In support of this view Dr.
Latham urges that since Lithuanian is the nearest congener of
Sanskrit, the original seat of Sanskrit must have been in ap-
proximate contact with Lithuanian ; that Lithuanian is immobile
— the Lithuanians being apparently the survival of a great
people once stretching far to south of its present limits — as far
indeed as the Danube, if, as seems probable, the ancient Dacian
was a language of the Lithuanic class — while Sanskrit, in India,
242 CANON TAYLOR. — The Origin and
is intrusive, since at some time it must have been united with
Iranian, somewhere in the Bactrian region. Hence it would
appear that the united Hindu-Iranian people were a nornad tribe
which moved down the Volga from the Lithuanian region, and
passed north of the Caspian up the Ox us, which then flowed into
the Caspian.
Again, Latham- urges that Lithuanian is closely related to
Slavonic, its geographical neighbour, and Slavonic again is re-
lated to Teutonic.
It is more difficiilt to suppose that the Lithuanians, Slaves, and
Germans migrated from the Oxus, than that the Hindus and
Iranians migrated from the Volga to the valley of the Oxus.
It is more probable that the smaller class split off from the
larger, than the larger from the smaller.
It is merely an assumption that the human race came from
the east. The great antiquity of man in Europe is established.
Virchow maintains that the Engis skull belongs to the Teutonic
type, and proves the very early existence of a Teutonic race on
the Meuse.
The migration of the Iranians is no more difficult than that
of the Magyars, who are an intrusive tribe of nomads from Asia,
having no congeners within 700 miles.
To bring the Lithuanians, Slaves, and Germans from Bactria,
is as absurd as it would be to bring the Finns from Hungary.
The smaller body breaks off from the larger, which remains
in situ.
The question remained practically in abeyance from 1871 to
1883, the European origin of the Aryans being held as a sort
of pious opinion by half a dozen scholars who had devoted
special attention to the subject, while the old Central Asian
hypothesis still held its ground, with the practical acquiesence
of the learned world. But in 1883 the question received a new
impulse. In that year two remarkable books were published,
Penka's Origines Ariac.ce, a slashing, but somewhat too dogmatic
work, and the cautious and more scholarly book of Dr. 0. Schrader,
entitled Sprachvergleichung und Uryeschichte. Dr. Schrader, as
the result of an exhaustive investigation, comes to the final
conclusion " that the European hypothesis, that is, that the
origin of the Indo-European races is to be sought westward
rather than eastward, appears to be far more (weitaus) in accor-
dance with the facts."
These two books drew general attention to the subject, and
induced Prof. Sayce in 1885 to surrender the Asiatic hypothesis
which he had advocated in 1880, and his conversion was ac-
companied or followed by that of other students, my own I
confess among the rest.
Primitive Seat of the Aryans. 243
Dr. Schrader only commits himself to the general opinion
that the migrations of the Aryans took place southward and
eastward, rather than northward and westward, and in this I
agree with him. Prof. Penka is much more definite, and he
tries to fix the cradle of the Aryan race, not in Central Asia, but
in the Scandinavian peninsula. For reasons which will pre-
sently appear, I do not think this opinion tenable; but this
credit must be given to Penka, that it was his book followed by
another, Die Herkunft der Arier, published in 1886, which de-
molished the old hypothesis, and that directed general attention
to the subject which the more scholarly work of Schrader might
have failed in effecting.
Schrader's book is philological, but Penka's argument is
anthropological, rather than linguistic. He argues that most
of the Aryan-speaking races are only Aryan by language, not
by blood. The nations now speaking Aryan languages exhibit,
he says, several distinct ethnological types. These are : —
1. The Scandinavian and North German type : — Dolicho-
cephalic, tall, fair, with white skin, with a Grecian
nose, straight and fine, blue eyes, blonde, golden or
yellow hair, and abundant beard. This, he thinks, is
the pure Aryan type.
2. The Mediterranean type of Italy and Spain : — Brachy-
cephalic, short, dark, with black eyes, dark hair. This,
he thinks, is Iberic, and ultimately Berber.
3. The Slavonic type : — Brachy cephalic, with a short face,
short stumpy nose, and little beard. This is the Turko-
Tatar or Ugric type. To this type belong the lower
classes of Bavaria and Southern Germany, who are
brachycephalic and dark, while the upper classes are
dolichocephalic, tall, and fair.
4. The Kelts are largely mixed ; some classes are tall and red
haired, others short and dark.
5. The Iranians and Indians, originally tall and fair, but
much altered by climatic influences.
It has to be determined which of these represents the pure
primitive Aryan type.
Now there is no question that residence in a southern land, or a
mixture of darker blood, tends to make a fair race darker ; while
the converse is not true ; residence in high latitudes or a mixture
of blue blood does not make a dark man fair.
The Jews and Portuguese in India have become almost black ;
the fair Goths of Spain, the Greeks, and the Hindus, have become
darker than they were ; whereas the polar races remain dark and
short ; a residence for countless generations in the north has not
244 CANON TAYLOR. — The Origin and
given them the Aryan type. The Lapps, the Ostiaks, the
Samoyedes, the Eskimo, the Eed Men of the Canadian Dominion
prove that a race may dwell innumerable centuries in northern
climes without acquiring the fair hair, the blue eyes, the white
skin, and the tall stature of the Scandinavians.
It is, therefore, more probable that a fair race should have
become dark than that a dark race should have become fair.
There is no instance known of a dark race having become fair,
whereas there are many instances of fair races becoming dark.
Eace characters, where there is no change of climate or mixture
of blood, are very permanent. The Egyptian and Assyrian
monuments show that 5,000 years have not essentially changed
the Semitic or Negro type.
But change of speech is more easy to effect than change of
blood. Change of speech is the rule rather than the exception
in case of conquest. The conquered readily acquire the speech
of the conquerors, while the conquerors, being usually fewer in
numbers, acquire the physical type of the more numerous con-
quered race. The exceptions are not numerous. The Normans
in France and England, the Lombards in Italy, the Bulgars in
Bulgaria, have lost their speech ; but on the other hand, the
Negroes in the United States and Jamaica speak English, in Haiti
French, in Cuba, Spanish. In Peru and Mexico, the pure-
blooded Aztecs and Peruvians speak Spanish. Asia Minor was
Hellenized. Arabic now prevails in Syria and Egypt. Latin
spread over Gaul and Spain. German has replaced Slavonic
on the Elbe, Basque is retreating before French and Spanish,
Bohemian before German, Finnish before Eussian, Welsh and
Gaelic before English. The superior people have a wonderful
power of imposing its language on conquered or enslaved races,
superior in mere numbers to themselves. Change of language
is far easier and more frequent than the change of race type.
Following out the argument, we may conclude that the Lapps
and the Samoyedes are probably an Eskimo race which has
acquired a Finnic or Ugric speech. This is shown by their short
stature and their dark skins and hair, while the Irish of Donegal
and Kerry, and the Welsh of South Wales are probably, as
shown by their short heads, short stature, and dark hair, an
Iberian race which has acquired a Keltic speech, just as the
Mahrattas are largely a Dravidian race which has learnt an
Aryan speech. On such grounds Penka argues that the Eussian
Slaves are tribes mainly of Ugric blood, which have acquired an
Aryan language, while the Mediterranean races are mainly of
Iberian blood who have learned the Aryan speech of their
pre-historic conquerors.
This argument is confirmed by the fact that the nobles in
Primitive, Scat of the Aryans. 245
these lands, who would be the descendants of the conquerors,
are fairer and taller than the labouring classes, who represent the
conquered race. This is conspicuously the case in Bavaria and
Southern Germany, and also in France, Italy, Sicily, Spain,
Greece, Scotland, and Ireland.
For these reasons it seems probable that the original Aryan
people were fair and tall, and that the short, dark types of
Southern and Eastern Europe are Aryans only in language
and not in blood.
In addition to these a priori arguments, all the historical
indications tend to show that the original Aryan conquerors of
southern lands were taller and fairer than the races by whom
they have been absorbed, who seem to have been of Iberian or
Berber blood, and to have crossed from Africa in the time of
the Dolmen stream.
Penka has collected from ancient authors many passages
tending to prove that the Greek and Eoman nobles had fair or
auburn hair, blue or grey eyes, a white skin, and tall stature. It
is thus that Homer pictures his gods and heroes, as in the cases
of Minerva, Achilles, and Menelaus. The same is the case with
the high caste Hindus, who represent the Aryan conquerors in
the purest strain ; they are taller and fairer than the lower
castes. It was the same with the Persian nobles. The purest
blood of the Hellenes is found among certain mountaineers of
Crete, whose fair hair and blue eyes bear witness to their pure
Dorian blood.
The Scythian tribes of Herodotus, who, according to Jacob
Grimm, spoke an Aryan language intermediate between Iranian
and Slavonic1, seem to have shared the fair Aryan type. More
especially the Budini of Herodotus, who dwelt north of the
Black Sea, between the Don and the Volga, near Saratov, had
blue eyes and reddish hair.2
The Ossetes of the Caucasus, who call themselves Iron
( = Iranians), who are probably to be identified with the Massa-
getie of Herodotus, and the Alani, who dwelt north of the Cas-
pian, present the Aryan type. They are of blonde complexion,
with blue eyes, and yellow or red hair.3
The Kurdish and Persian nobles frequently have blue eyes.
The high caste Ilajas of Rajputana are often fair.
The Seres, the eastern neighbours of the Scythians, are
described by Pliiiy as a tall race with blue eyes and red hair.
Classical writers have noted again and again the resemblance
in physical type of Kelts and Germans. They were distinguished
1 Zeuss, " Die Deut.schen," page 294 et seq.
2 Bunbury, " Anc. Geog.," I, 193, 196.
3 Diefenbach, " Orig. Eur.," page 41.
246 CANON TAYLOR. — TJie Origin and
by their. great stature, their white skins, and their yellow or red
hair.1 Pliny, Caesar, Diodorus, Strabo, Silius Italicus, Claudian,
Livy, Virgil, and Ammianus Marcellinus describe the Gauls
as very tall, with white skins, fair or golden hair, and blue or
blue-grey eyes.2
Throughout Southern Europe, in parts of Wales and Ireland,
the blood is probably Iberian, while an Aryan language has
been acquired from Aryan conquerors. The same process has
gone on in the north.
Though the Lapps are certainly not of Finnic blood, they
speak what seems to be an archaic form of the Finnish speech of
Finland, while the tongue of the Samoyedes approaches that of
the Ostiaks and other eastern Finns, though they cannot be classed
as either Finns or Ugrians by race.
We have another argument, not without weight, as to the
probabilities of migration.
There is no assignable cause which can have induced a race,
physically superior in stature and energy, inhabiting the warm,
sunny, fertile lands of Southern Europe where all the conditions
of life are easy, to migrate to the inhospitable regions of
Northern Europe, with a poor sandy soil, and a long winter,
in which the struggle for existence is so hard ; whereas there
was every inducement for the hardy and prolific races of the
north to invade and conquer southern lands.
The tendency to move southward is exemplified by the
irruption of the northern nations into the Eoman Empire, vast
hordes of Goths, Burgundians, Vandals, Lombards, Sueves, and
Franks, marching from the Baltic region into the fertile lands of
Italy, Gaul, and Spain, where the descendants of the fair-haired
giants were gradually absorbed among the shorter and darker
races of those lands.
Sidonius Apollinaris describes the gigantic Burgundians of
Gaul as seven feet high, and that this is not merely a poetical
licence is proved by the huge skeletons found in the Burgundian
graves of the valley of the Rhone.
The causes of the physical superiority of the Aryans is easy
to understand, if we derive them from Northern Europe.
Temperate Europe was the school in which men were trained
for work, and became superior in physical and mental energy.
With the Polar races the struggle was too difficult, and they
succumbed. It was only just possible to support life ; there
was no room for physical development or for superior culture.
In high latitudes labour is only possible in the short summer;
in low latitudes only in the winter. In the temperate zone
1 Diefenbach, " Orig. Eur.." page 198. 2 Ib., pages 161, 162.
Primitive Seat of the Aryans. 247
alone labour is possible all the year round, and hence the
inhabitants of temperate regions have ever been distinguished
by greater energy and superior physical development.
In historical times the Baltic lands have been the hive from
which the pure Aryans have swarmed, and analogy leads us to
expect that the same was the case in pre-historic times. In
these lands men are prolific, while the means of subsistence are
limited. The power of expansion of the Scandinavian and
North German races is shown not only by the swarms of
Teutonic invaders who overwhelmed the Roman Empire, but by
the streams of Swedish, German, Dutch, and English emigrants
who are now colonising North America, Australia, New Zea-
land, and South Africa, and who hold in fee so many tropical
and sub-tropical lands. We also see that in the south the type
rapidly dies out, or is absorbed. In India there are no pure-
blooded Englishmen of the third generation, whilst the Goths
have left little of their blue blood in Spain, Gaul, or Italy.
Moreover Sweden and Denmark have been always Aryan ; the
pre-historic skulls, whether of the stone, the bronze, or the iron
age, are uniform in type. About 10 per cent, of the pre-historic
skulls are of the Lapp type, which may be explained as a result
of slavery ; the rest belong to the pure Aryan type, which exists
at the present day.
The first definite conclusion at which we arrive is, that while
Aryan languages are spoken by six ethnic types — Scandinavian,
Slavonic, Mediterranean, Keltic, and Irano-Indian — the purest
of all in blood is the Scandinavian or North German, and that
the primitive Aryans were of this type — a northern race, tall and
fair, with blonde complexion, light hair, and blue eyes, who
conquered southern, eastern, and some western lands, where,
though their northern blood has been absorbed and obscured by
the more numerous races whom they conquered, they succeeded
in imposing their language, as is so often the case with a small
ruling class. Witness the spread of the Latin language, which
followed the subjugation of Spain, Gaul, and Northern Africa
by the Romans, or the spread of the Greek language over the
Empire of Alexander, or the still more remarkable case of the
Arabic which has everywhere followed the crescent, and has
exterminated Latin in North Africa, Greek in Asia Minor, Coptic
in Egypt, and which is now rapidly extending over Africa to
within a few degrees of the Equator.
So far I think we may accept Penka's argument. But it is
more difficult to follow him in his contention that Scandinavia
was the cradle of the Aryan race. This seems rather to have
been the great European plain south of the Baltic. In such a
matter we cannot expect to attain to certainty, but the balance
248 CANON TAYLOR. — The Origin and
of argument seems to lead to this conclusion. We have already
seen that the linguistic evidence tends to show that the primitive
Aryans inhabited some great plain, and not a mountainous
region. It is difficult to understand how they can have crossed
the Baltic in such vast numbers, while Scandinavia seems to
afford neither the geographical space, nor the means of sub-
sistence for their development. The tendency to albinism must
also be explained, and the only physical explanation that has
yet been advanced connects it with the poverty of colouring
material in the barren sands of Northern Germany, and the
western provinces of Bussia. Here we find that the charac-
teristics of the Aryan race has become so accentuated that the
hair is almost devoid of pigment, it is nearly white, and the
complexion is tallowy. We notice this tendency in some of the
eastern counties of England, where the sandy soil is quite devoid
of iron.
But the chief objection to Penka's Scandinavian theory is
that it proves too much. It does not account for the origin of the
Aryans, but rather assumes that the Aryans were always
Aryans. Ex, nihilo nihil. The Aryans must have had ancestors
who were not Aryans. Who could those ancestors have been ?
Can we find any survivals or vestiges of this race ?
My own opinion, arrived at independently, agrees with a
conjecture which I find was put forth twenty years ago by two
great scholars, Diefenbach and Weske — a conjecture which they
did not attempt to substantiate by proof, because the materials
for proof had not at that time been collected.
I believe that in the Finns of Finland, and the Esthonians
and Liefs of Courland and Livonia, we discover, in situ, a
people who can be shown, anthropologically and linguistically,
to be the survivors of the race from which the Aryans were
evolved.
When Diefenbach and Weske wrote, it was impossible to
establish their conjecture. It was necessary to await the result
of much patient labour in the analyses of the grammar and
vocabulary of the Aryan and Turanian languages — a result
which has now been achieved by Fick, Curtius, Schrader,
Budenz, Donner, and Vambery, who have enabled us to recon-
struct the elements of the original languages spoken 5,000 or
6,000 years ago by the ancestors, on the one hand of the Finns,
and on the other of the Aryans.
The argument is two-fold — anthropologic and linguistic. I
shall first endeavour to show that ethnologically the Finns
proper are of the same ethnic type as the contiguous Aryans
of Northern Europe. Penka, whose object is to prove that the
Aryans are unique in physical type, endeavours in vain to
Primitive Seat of the Aryans. 249
combat the conclusion of Virchow, that in all essential charac-
teristics the Finns of Finland belong to the Aryan type.
He is driven to the argument that the marked Aryan charac-
teristics of the Finns are due to an inter-mixture of Aryan
blood, which is contrary to all probability, since language
changes more readily than race ; since with an inter-mixture
of blood the dark, short race is prepotent, and the mixed race is
dark ; while it is most unlikely that the superior race should
have been so numerous as to have imparted its physical cha-
racter without also imparting its language.
Geiger also says that fair hair, white skin, and blue eyes are
ethnic characteristics confined to the Ayran race, with the
exception of the Finnic neighbours of the Aryans.1 He, like
Penka, accounts for the fact by an intermixture of Aryan blood.
The Aryan type of the Finns is recognised fully by independent
authorities who have no theory to support. Diefenbach states2
that anthropologically the Finns belong to the Aryan type
rather than to the Mongolic or Ugric. The European Finns
he says, resemble the Aryans of Northern Europe. The Finns
of Finland are fair and tall, with blue eyes. The Esthonians
have blue eyes and yellow hair, and are dolichocephalic.
This was the case in early times. From the Edda we learn
that the Scandinavians called their Finnic neighbours Jotuns,
or giants, proving that they were of even taller stature than
themselves. The same was the case with the Slaves, who also
at a very early period found the Finns a taller race than them-
selves, as is evident from the fact that by all the Slavonic races
the Finns are called Tschuds, a name derived from the Slavonic
word tend, a giant.3 Virchow, noting the light hair and blonde
complexion of the Finns, has pointed out that the Finns are
not, as was formerly thought, brachycephalic, but largely doli-
chocephalic. Of the Esthonians one-third are of the blonde
dolichocephalic type, and two-thirds are mesocephalic, with
light brown or darker hair. The cranial index of the Finns
is 78-59 ; of the Tschuds, 83'37 ; of the Magyars, 82*2.
According to Diefenbach, as we go eastward the races speak-
ing languages of the Finnic family diverge more and more from
the Finnic type. The blonde hair becomes red, and the skin
and eyes become darker. Thus while the Wotiaks, Mordwins,
and Tscheremis have red hair more frequently than brown,
and some Ostiaks have reddish hair, the Woguls and eastern
Ostiaks are darker both in skin and hair.4 The Ostiaks on the
Obi, Diefenbach thinks,5 though speaking a Finnic tongue,
1 Penka, " Orig. Ar.," page 30.
2 Diefenbach, " Orig. Europ.," page 213.
3 Ujfalvy, " Melanges," page 120.
4 Diefenbach, "Orig. Europ.," page 213. * II,, pnge209.
250 CANON TAYLOR. — The Origin and
cannot be considered as pure Finns, having probably an in-
fusion of Samoyedic blood. But this is no difficulty, as the
same phenomenon meets us among the Aryans, the type, as we
proceed from Northern to Southern Europe changing from fair
to dark, just as among the Finnic races it changes from yellow
to red, and red to dark, as we go eastward.
Thus there is a gradual gradation in language and physical
type, from the Finns, whose language is almost inflectional, and
whose type is Aryan, to the Ostiaks whose language may be
classed either as Finnic or Ugric, and then through the Ugric
tribes to the Tschuwash, whose speech is midway between
Ugric and Turkic. In like manner the Turkic tribes gradually
approximate to the Mongolic. There is a similar gradation
among the Aryans from the Lithuanians to the Germans, the
English, the Kelts, and the Latins.
It is thus possible to pass from the Mongols to the Tatars,
from the Tatars to the Ugrians, from the Ugrians to the Finns,
from the Finns to the Teutons, and from the Teutons to the
Kelts and the Latin races. Nowhere is there any great gulf, but
rather an inclined plane of race and language.
But this does not affect the fact that the pure Finnic race
in Finland and Esthonia is tall, fair, and blue-eyed, just as the
pure Aryan race in Scandinavia and Northern Germany is also
blue eyed, tall, and fair.
We must remember that language is unstable, while the
ethnic type remains constant. In Babylonia the type remains,
though the language has changed from Accadian to Semitic,
and from Semitic to Persian, Greek, and Arabic in turn. The
same is the case in Asia Minor and Syria, where the ancestors
of the present population have spoken Hittite, Aramean, Greek,
and Arabic, while in Egypt Coptic has been replaced by Greek,
and Greek by Arabic. In Southern Europe Sicily and Spain
present similar phenomena.
It may be affirmed that, except the Finns, there is no race
existing in the world from which the northern Aryans could
have derived their unique physical characteristics ; and that
there is no language except the Finnic from which the Aryan
speech could have been developed.
Either the characteristics of the Finns must have been de-
rived from the Aryans, or the characteristics of the Aryans from
the Finns. The first is the contention of Penka — the second is
my own.
Language changes more readily than race, and if the Finns
had received such an overwhelming infusion of Aryan blood as
to change the type from dark to fair, from black eyes to blue,
from short to tall, from brachycephalic to dolichocephalic, it is
Primitive Seat of the Aryans. 251
strange indeed that the language of the higher race should not
also have replaced the language of the lower race. Penka's con-
tention, in short, amounts to this, that the Finns are really an
Aryan race, who, in some way, have acquired a language of the
Altaic type. This seems quite incredible, and it is far more
reasonable to suppose that the Finns are rather the survival of
the race from which the Aryans sprang, a survival due to their
isolation in the inaccessible marshes of Finland, which, so far as
we know, they have always inhabited.
But this Finnic race was once far more extensive. It has con-
tinually been encroached on, more especially by Slaves, who,
though speaking an Aryan tongue, are themselves mainly of
Finnic or Ugric blood. The process of assimilation is still
rapidly proceeding. Castren thinks that in the time of Tacitus
the Finns extended uninterruptedly from the Ural to the
Baltic. He arrives at this conclusion from the evidence of
Finnic place-names in Russia, and from the fact that in Nestor's
time there were many Finns in parts of Eussia from whence
they have now disappeared.
That the region south of the White Sea, the land of the
Biarmians, was once Finnic, has been proved by Ujf'alyy from
the evidence of place-names and from the numerous Finnic
words incorporated into the Eussian dialect of the department
of Archangel.
The Esths still occupy the land of the Aestisei of Tacitus,
who inhabited the amber land of the Baltic, and the Finns are
believed by Zeuss to be the Fenui of Tacitus, and the Finnoi of
Ptolemy.
According to Diefenbach the Finns once stretched far to the
south in- Europe, as well as to the north and east, having been
pushed back, or more probably absorbed, by the Aryans, but
they still range in almost unbroken order as far as the Finno-
Ugric tribes of Asia.
This Finnic race, formerly so widely spread over Northern and
Eastern Europe, exhibits in its highest development the same
ethnic type as those Aryan races who seem to have the best
title to represent the primitive Aryan type. At all events
there is no other ethnic type from which the Aryans can so
reasonably be derived. The Aryans must have sprung from
some other race in an inferior linguistic and social stage. From
what race ? Plainly from a white race, a northern race, and a
race whose language approaches their own. They could not have
sprung from a Semitic stock. The type is altogether different.
The Semites have an aquiline nose, black hair and eyes, and an
oval face. Their language, though inflexional, is fundamentally
different, and there can be little doubt that the Semites origi-
252 CANON TAYLOR. — The Origin and
nated in Northern Arabia. The other great families of mankind,
the Mongolic, the Turkic, the Negroid, the Berber, and the
Egyptian, present equal or greater difficulties. The choice
seems to lie between the Iberian and Finnic stocks, if, indeed,
these were not fragments of the same family separated by
intrusive Aryan peoples.
But if we accept the reasonings of Penka and others as to
the primitive Aryan type, and Tick's reasoning as to the
northern origin of the Aryans, we must give the preference to
the Finnic rather than to the Iberic race, as the Aryan mother
stock.
If this be so, if the Aryans are an improved race of Finns,
then Finnic speech ought to exhibit signs of being the mother
tongue from which the Aryan languages were developed ; or,
conversely, the Finnic ought to be a survival of the ruder holo-
ethnic speech from which the Aryan was developed.
Is this possible ? Can the inflexional Aryan languages have
arisen from the agglutinative Finnic speech ?
This, I think, is possible. Prof Max Miiller, who must be
regarded as a hostile witness, since he believes that the Aryans
originated in the highlands of Central Asia, observes, " we
might almost doubt whether the grammar of this language
(Finnic) had not left the agglutinative stage, and entered into
the current of inflexion with Greek and Sanskrit."1
Prof. Max Miiller is plainly conscious that in the Finnic
speech we find a point of closer linguistic approximation to the
Aryan languages than can elsewhere be discovered. The ap-
proximation is still more evident if we compare two languages
in geographical contact, the Esthonian, the most advanced of
the Finnic languages, and the Lithuanian, the most backward
of the Aryan.
The Lithuanian, the most archaic type of Aryan speech, is
spoken in the Baltic provinces of Eussia and in the adjacent
regions of East Prussia. It has been much encroached upon,
and has been supposed at one time to have extended as far as the
Danube. It is now in geographical contact with the Esthonian.
We find, therefore, side by side, still dwelling in their primitive
seats, the Esths, the members of the Finnic family who are most
advanced in civilisation, in physical type, and in language, and
their western neighbours the Lithuanians, who speak the most
archaic of all living Aryan languages.
In this region, therefore, if Aryan speech was developed out
of Finnic speech, we may look for evidence of the transition
between the Finnic and Aryan languages.
1 Max Miiller, " Lectures," I, page 319.
Primitive Seat of the Aryans. 253
In what points should we expect to be able to trace this
original linguistic identity, if it existed ?
The separation must have been at so remote a date — at the
least 5,000 years ago, probably much more — that we cannot
expect to find any very evident traces of a common vocabulary.
It is true that there is a large number of common words, but
these, as Ahlquist has shown, cannot be taken into account
since they are mostly Kultur-worten, borrowed by the Finns
at a time long subsequent to the separation, and they are more-
over words denoting a higher stage of culture than was reached
when the separation of the Aryan races took place. Such, for
instance, as the words for lead and tin, for the anvil, agriculture,
for ships, for woven garments, and, in all probability, for the
horse. These are the same in Finnic and Aryan speech, but
they cannot be taken into account as they are plainly loan
words, and are only found among the western Finns, while their
origin can be traced without difficulty to some contiguous form
of Aryan speech, usually Scandinavian, Slavonic, or Lithuanian.
But it is entirely different when we come to another class
of words, those denoting the primary relations and necessities
of existence, such as the words for father, mother, son, daughter,
brother, sister, which are common to the European- Asia tic
branches of the Finnic race. The same is the case with some of
the numerals, and with some of the primary necessaries of life,
salt, shelter, food, the rudest tools, and two of the metals, gold
and copper. But when we go still deeper, when we go back to
the very oldest traces of linguistic affinity, then the relationship
becomes more plain. When we analyse the verbal roots, the
pronouns, the structure, the formatives, and the fundamental
conceptions of grammar, then the linguistic resemblance — I may
almost say the linguistic identity — comes out with startling plain-
ness. Borrowing is here out of the question, because the
resemblance is so deep-seated ; it is a resemblance not of words,
but of roots, of grammatical structure, of pronouns, of demon-
stratives and relatives, and of formative suffixes. That not only
the verbal roots and stems, but that the pronominal suffixes
of the first, second, and third persons of the verb should be
ultimately the same, that the formation of the nominative,
genitive, and accusative should be analogous, argues, not borrow-
ing, but a primitive unity.
This cannot be affirmed of the Aryan and any other family of
speech. There is no such fundamental community as to the
first elements of speech between the Aryans and any other
race, Semitic, African, or Turkic. The Finnic language is the
bridge between the languages of Asia and Europe. In their
structure they hold on, with one hand, to the Ugric, Turkic,
VOL. XVII. S
254 CANON TAYLOR. — The Origin and
and Mongolia, less advanced than themselves ; while with the
other hand they grasp the more Aryan languages. We have
the connecting link between the speech of Northern Asia and of
Xorthern Europe. In the Baltic provinces we find a common
point of contact between languages so diverse as Turkish and
Teutonic. The vowel harmony and the relics of agglutination
link them with the Turkic tongues ; the inflectional grammar,
the formatives and the roots link them with the Aryan
languages.
The only assignable argument for the now exploded theory
which places the primitive Aryan home in the highlands of
Central Asia was the supposition, now shown to be erroneous,
that Sanskrit presents us with the most archaic type of Aryan
speech. This belief is now generally surrendered in favour of
that advocated by Posche and others, that the Lithuanian
rather than Sanskrit, comes nearest to the Aryan Ursprackc.
If this is the case, as is now generally admitted, all the argu-
ments which brought the primitive Aryans from the head
waters of the Oxus, where the Iranian and Sanskrit peoples
separated from each other, become arguments for placing the
original Aryan home in proximity to the region now occupied
by the Lithuanians.
In comparing Finnic and Aryan grammar I will first give an
outline of the results set forth in a remarkable paper by Weske,
Ueber die historische Entwickelung der finnischen Sprachen in
Vergleich mit der der Indo-germanischen.
The chief difference, he observes, between Turanian and
Aryan speech is that the one is agglutinative while the other
is inflexional.
The Finnic is the most advanced of the agglutinative Tura-
nian languages. Though connected with them by the roots,
grammar, and formatives, yet the suffixes are almost as firmly
united to the roots in Finnic as in Lithuanian or Sanskrit. The
structure of the Finnic languages cannot, on the one hand, be
divided by a sharp line from Turkic, or on the other by a sharp
line from Aryan. Finnic is the link which unites them both.
We may take Sanskrit and Lithuanian as two of the more
archaic Aryan languages and compare the method of word-
building from the verbal root with the same process in Suomi
and Esthonian, two of the most advanced Finnic tongues. The
formative ma is employed in Aryan and Finnic with the same
signification. In Finnic, combined with the verbal root san, to
say, it gives san-o-ma, a message ; with the root juo, to drink, it
gives juo-ma, drink ; with tek, to do, it gives tek-e-ma, a deed.
In Aryan languages the combinations are identical ; in Sanskrit,
fioin the verbal root gliar, to burn, we have ghar-ma, warmth,
Primitive Seat of the Aiyans. 255
from dhu, to move, we have dhu-ma, smoke ; in Lithuanian
from vaz, to carry, we have vaz-ma, carriage, from aud, to
weave, we have aud-i-ma, a web, and in Latin from fa, to say,
we have fa-ma, a report.
Here the same suffix is seen to be bound as tightly to the
verbal in Finnic as in Aryan, the method of formation is iden-
tical, and the suffix is common to both. The comparison might
be extended to other formative suffixes which are employed
both in Aryan and Finnic languages, such for instance as na,ja,
va, la, ka, and la. Thus, to take an instance or two, we have in
Finnic the formative na, which combined with the verbal root
koh, to drink, gives koh-i-na, drunken; while this suffix combined
with the verbal root svap, to sleep, gives in Sanskrit svap-na,
sleep, and in Lithuanian sap-na, sleep. Or take the formative
ja, which in Finnic from lug, to read, gives lug-e-ja, a reader,
and in Lithuanian from sta, to stand, gives sta-ja, a position, or
place.
We may next examine the pronominal suffixes which are
suffixed to the verbal roots for the conjugation of the verb.
Prof. Doimer has shown that in Finnic, the primitive pro-
nominal suffixes were ma for the first person, ta for the second,
and sa for the third. Now ma is the pronoun " I " or " me,"
both in Aryan and Finnic languages, and thus an Esthonian
who says ma, I, is speaking Aryan as well as Finnic. In
modern Aryan languages, as well as in Finnic, this suffix has
sometimes become -m or -n, or has even disappeared altogether.
Let us now compare the conjugation in Aryan and Finnic lan-
guages. From the Sanskrit verbal root vah, to carry (cf. Latin,
velio), we have vah-a-mi, I carry ; and from bhar, to bear, we
have a-bhar-am, I bore (cf. Greek, i-anj-pi and e-fyep-ov). In
Lithuanian we have es-mi, I am, in Old High German tuo-m,
I do, and ga-m, I go, which in New High German have become
thu-e and geh-e. In Finnic the same suffix ma has undergone
the same changes. Thus in Tscheremis " I come " is tola-m,
in Suomi tule-n, in Esthonian tul-e. "I live" is dle-m in Lapp,
ale-n in Suomi, el-d in Esthonian.
So, also, with the pronominal suffix of the second person.
In Suomi we have tule-t, thou comest, the t being derived from
the pronoun ta, thou, just as in Aryan languages the suffix s is
derived from tva, thou, as in the Sanskrit bhdra-si, thou bearest.
The plural pronominal suffixes differ somewhat in Aryan aud
Finnic, owing, as will hereafter be shown, to the plural having
orginated after the separation of the Aryan from the Finnic
races, but the identity of the plural and pronominal signs is
curious. In Finnic, the plural pronominal suffix of the first
person is m-me, as tule-m-me, we come. The first m arose out of
s 2
256 CANON TAYLOK. — TJte Origin and
n, due to the disappearance, as Budenz holds, of t, the plural
sign. In Aryan the suffix of the first person plural is ma-s
(= ma-si), compounded of ma, I, and the plural suffix. In Finnic
the suffix of the second person plural is t-te (as in tule-t-te, ye
come), compounded of the plural suffix t as before, and ta thou.
In Aryan the suffix was originally ta-si from ta, and the plural
suffix. We see the Finnic plural suffix t which was probably
the archaic form of the Aryan plural suffix s. It will be
noted that the order of the signs of the plural and the pronoun
is different in Aryan and Finnic. They were independently
formed, after the separation of the races, but the materials out
of which they were formed were identical.
It is the same with the declension of the noun. The case
signs in Finnic arose out of suffixed prepositions as in Aryan
languages. We have the ablative in -t, the genitive in -n, and
the accusative in -m. Thus in Tscherernis we have the accusa-
tive vida-m, water, from the stem vid-a, water, and in Sanskrit
pati-m, master, from the stem pati.
In Aryan, as in Finnic, there are internal vowel changes in
the stems as in Finnic, but these, probably, may date from a
later period.
I feel bound to give full prominence to the two strongest-
arguments against the primitive identity of the Finnic and
Aryan tongues, arguments that to many will, perhaps, seem
conclusive against my contention.
These arguments are morphological, and seem to go down to
the very foundations of grammar.
They are, first, that the Finnic languages, like the rest of the
Turanian class, possess no gender ; and, secondly, that the sign
of the plural is inserted between the stem and the pronominal
or postpositional suffixes, instead of after them, as in Aryan
languages. This is also the case with Georgian, where bi or
ni, the plural sign, is inserted between the root and the case
endings.
I am inclined to believe that these two peculiarities of Finnic
grammar, instead of being fatal to my proposition, afford a very
curious confirmation of some speculations of Prof. Sayce, as to
the earliest form of Aryan speech, and, therefore, if his specula-
tions be sound, they afford a remarkable confirmation of my
theory. Not only has gender been lost in two Aryan languages,
English and Persian, but Prof. Sayce considers that gender did
not exist in the primitive Aryan speech, in which case its
absence from Finnic is only an additional proof that Aryan was
derived from Finnic. In his article on grammar in the
" Encyclopaedia Britannica," Prof. Sayce observes that "Gender is
the product partly of analogy, and partly of phonetic decay."
Primitive Seat of the Aryans. 257
" There are many indications," he continues, " that the parent
Aryan, at an early stage of its existence, had no signs of gender
at all." " The terminations of father and mother, pater and
mater for example, are exactly the same." " Feminines like
humus and 6809, or masculines like advena and TroXm??, show
there was a time when these stems indicated no particular
gender, but owed their subsequent adaption, the one to mark
the masculine, and the other to mark the feminine, to the
influence of analogy." If this reasoning is correct, and I
confess I do not see any flaw, we should expect to find the
parent Aryan genderless like the Finnic.
If Prof. Sayce is right, the very fact that Finnic is without
gender, is one reason the more why we may look to Finnic as
the parent of Aryan speech.
The same reasoning holds as to the difference in the formation
of the plural. Prof. Sayce considers that in the primitive
Aryan speech there was no plural, but only the singiilar and the
dual. Now, though the plural is differently formed from the
same elements in Aryan and Finnic, the dual is formed in pre-
cisely the same way. Hence I take the different formation of
the Aryan and Finnic plural to be a sign of primitive unity.
Prof. Sayce says1: " We might think the roots of the plural go
down to the beginnings of language, but it is not so." He
thinks this is proved by the existence of the dual, which would
have been needless if the plural had been in existence, as we see
by the fact that the existence of the plural has caused the dual
to be dropped. " The dual," he says,2 " was older than the
plural, and after the development of the latter, survived only as
a useless encumbrance, which most of the Aryan languages
contrived to get rid of." The same was the case with the Finnic
languages, which originally had a dual, as proved by its
existence in Ostiak, Lapp, and Samoyed, but the more cultured
languages have got rid of it. Now, the curious point is that,
though the Aryan and Finnic languages differ fundamentally in
the formation of the plural, they agree precisely as to the
formation of the dual.
The Aryan dual is believed to have been formed by two
suffixed pronouns, as-ma (= I + he) being equivalent to "we
two," and tas-ma (= thou 4- he) = ye two. In like manner
Pott considered the Samoyed dual was originally equivalent to
I + he, and the same holds probably of Ostiak and Lapp. The
dual suffix in Finnic follows the case ending and pronominal
suffix as in the Aryan languages.
1 Sayce, " Princ-iples," page 258.
* " Encyclopaedia Britannica," article Grammar.
258 CANON TAYLOR. — The Origin and
In the Finnic languages the dual is formed like the Aryan
dual. The case ending comes first, and the sign for the dual
after it.
But the Aryan and Finnic languages must have separated
when they were in the stage which Prof. Sayce assigns to the
oldest Aryan speech, that is, when they possessed only a
singular and a dual.
In both the plural was a subsequent formation, and was formed
in Aryan on the model of the dual, either by the addition of a
plural suffix, or as some grammarians hold, by an intensification of
the dual, while in Finnic it was formed by a plural suffix t inserted
before the pronominal suffix. The singular and plural were
regarded as independent words, and the suffixes were tacked on,
just as in English we tack on the sign of the genitive in such
words as man and men, e.g., " the man's boots," and " the men's
boots," a formation which corresponds exactly to the formation
in the Finnic languages.
I maintain, therefore, that the two chief fundamental differ-
ences between Aryan and Finnic grammar, namely, gender and
the plural, instead of being proofs of primitive diversity, are, in
the light of the most recent speculations, convincing proofs of
primitive unity, and also that Finnic grammar is able to cast
unexpected light on the primitive grammar of the holo-ethnic
Aryan race.
The grammar of such a Turanian language as the Turkish
seems to have no points of agreement with the grammar of the
more advanced Aryan languages, such as Persian or English, but
the grammar of the more advanced Finnic languages, such as
Suomi or Esthonian is not far removed from that of the more
archaic Aryan languages such as Sanskrit or Lithuanian, and
hence the Finnic forms the link between Aryan and Turanian
speech. We find a gradual progression from Buriat through
Yakut and Uigur to the Tschuwash, which are all languages of
the Turko-Tatar class. The Tschuwash is not very far removed
from the Ugric branch of the Finnic tongues, so that through
Magyar, Ostiak, Wogul, and Mordwin, we reach the Suomi and
Esthonian, through which we get the transition to Lithuanian
and Sanskrit, which are inseparable from the Keltic, Latin,
Greek, Slavonic, and Teutonic tongues. Just as the Finnic is
a development of the Turkic, so the Aryan is a development
of the Finnic Ursprache.
Twenty years ago when Weske pointed out the grammatical
analogies between Finnic and Aryan, he refrained from affirm-
ing that they point to a single primitive Ursprache, because at
that time the primitive verbal roots of the Finnic language had
not been determined. This, however, has now been done by
Primitive Seat of the Aryans.
259
Budenz, Donner, and Vambery, and we can carry Weske's
argument a step further, and show not only that the grammar is
fundamentally identical, but the primitive roots, the Staff out of
which the vocabularies have been manufactured, is the same.
To demonstrate this proposition would require a volume. I
will take one leaf only out of the book, as a sample of the rest.
It will be better to examine thoroughly a small portion of the
domain, than to scamper over the whole ground. Lest I should
unconsciously pick my evidence, I will take a few roots in con-
secutive alphabetical order. Prof. Skeat, in his " Etymological
Dictionary," has given a list of 461 primitive Aryan roots,
mainly from Tick. Of these I have taken the 18 triliteral roots
in k, Nos. 41-58, and have compared them with the Finnic
7i?-stems in Conner's Vergleichendcs Worterbuch der Finnische
Sprachen, Nos. 1-338.
I have taken the triliteral roots because the biliteral roots are
too general and vague, and the quadriliteral too modern, having
largely been developed after the separation of the Aryans and
linns. They are properly stems rather than roots.
The resemblance, nay, the identity is most surprising. Every
one of these 18 triliteral Aryan roots in Jc is also found in Finnic
with the same meaning. It is perfectly impossible that the
resemblance in so many cases can be accidental. And they
cannot be loan words, as they extend to the Asiatic languages
of the Finnic class, as well as the European languages which
are in contact with Aryan languages. They belong, therefore, to
the Finnic Ursprache.
Comparison of Verbal Roots in Aryan and Finnic.
AKYAN ROOTS. FINNIC BOOTS.
1. A/KAK, to cackle, laugh, mate a
noise (Skeat, No. 41).
Hence cackle, cock.
2. -V/KAK ( = hag) to gird, surround
(Skeat, No. 42).
Hence hook, haken, hedge ; German
hols.
2A. A/KAK, to excrete (Fick).
Hence Latin cacare ; Greek KO.KKTI •
Irish cace, excrement.
. 3. A/KAK, to waver, hestitate, be in
doubt (Skeat, No. 43).
Hence Latin cunctor ; Sanskrit cane,
to hesitate.
4. -/EAT ( = hath), to cover, protect
(Skeat, No. 41).
Hence hat, heed, hut.
1. ,\AKAK, to cackle, make a noise
(Donner, Nos. 20-25).
Hence Finnic kaik-la,io- sound, kaj-
an, to sound, kuk-kua, (o cackle, kuk,
a cock, gag-o, a stork.
2. A/KAK, to bend round (Donner, Nos.
2-13).
Hence Finnic kok, a hook, kak-la,
neck.
2A. -V/KAK, to excrete (Donner, No.
24).
Hence Finnic kak-ka, excrement.
3. A/KAC,to observe, look at (Donner,
Nos. 69, 70.)
Hence Finnic kac-on, to prove, try,
look at.
4 -V^K AT ( = kant) , to cover (Douner,
Nos. 33-34).
Hence Finnic kat-to, a roof, kot-a, a
house ; Magjar haz, a house (?).
260
CANON TAYLOR. — The Origin and
ABYAN ROOTS.
5. A/KAD ( = hat), to fall, go away
(Skeat, No. 44 a).
Hence cadence ; Latin cado.
6. -V/KAD ( = haf) , to fell, throw down
(Skeat, No. 44 0).
Hence Sanskrit cat-aya, to throw
down ; English hunt, hand.
7. -/KAN, to siiig, to ring (Skeat, No.
46.
Hence Latin cano, gemo.
8. A/KAP ( = haf), to contain, hold,
seize, grasp (Skeat, No. 47).
Hence Sanskrit cap-ala, shell, skull ;
Greek K«f>-a\ri ; Latin cap-ut ; English
cup ; Latin cap-io ; English cap-acious.
9. A/KAP ( = kamp), to move to and
fro, vibrate, bend (Skeat, No. 48).
Hence Greek KOITTU) ; Keltic cam,
bent.
10. A/KAM ( = ham), to bend (Skeat,
No. 49).
Hence camera, chamber, ham, combe,
hump, kink • Lithuanian kampas ;
crooked ; Greek Kainrr).
11. A/KAM, to love (Skeat, No. 50).
Hence Latin amo ; English home.
12. A/KAB, to make work, do (Skeat,
No. 51, Fick III, p. 521).
Hence carve, create, ceremony, auto-
crat.
13. A/KAB ( = har), to hurt, destroy
(Skeat, No. 54).
Hence Latin gladius ; English harry.
(The Finnic shows that this is the
same as No. 12).
14. VKAB or KAL ( = har) to move,
run, speed (Skeat, No. 52).
Hence cel-er, car-riage, hor-se, cur-
ro, cor-acle.
15. A/KAR ( = hal), to project, stand
np (Skeat, No. 53).
Hence Latin collin, culmen, cvl-mus,
celsvs • English haulm, holm.
16. A/KAB ( = har), to be hard or
rough (Skeat, No. 55).
Hence Greek /cfp-ctf, a horn, icap-
Kivof, a crab ; Latin cor-nu ; t. nglish
horn, hart.
FINNIC ROOTS.
5. A/KAT, to fall (Donner, No. 47).
Hence Finnic kat-a, to fall down.
6. A/KAT, to seize (Donner, Nos. 50,
51, 61-64).
Hence Finnic kat-e, hand ; Ostiak,
katt-em, to seize ; Finnic Teat-ken, to
break off ; Tscheremis kat, to tear oil'.
7. A/KAM, to resound, to ring (Don-
ner, Nos. 321-331).
Hence Finnic kim-ea, sounding, kum-
ea. resonant ; Permian, gim, thunder.
8. A/KAP, to seize, hold, contain
(Donner, Nos. 273, 279, 281).
Hence Finnic kap-ia, to snatch, kap-
an, to seize, kop-et, to excavate, kuppi,
a cup, kap-io, a helmet, kop-aska, skuil,
kop-pa, forehead.
9. A/KAP, to hasten, knock, bend
(Donner, Nos. 265-286).
Hence Finnic kap-un, to hasten for-
ward, kop-utan, to knock, kap, bent.
10. A/KAM, to bend (Donner, Nos.
308, 320, 15-18).
Hence Finnic kam-ma, a sleeping
room, kum-pu, a small hill in a marsli,
kank, bent, kampura, crooked.
11. A/KAM, to lore (Demur, No. 351).
Hence Finnic heimo, family race,
aim, home, domestics, hcimo, relations ;
Wogul kant, family ; Mongol, aim-ak,
family.
12. A/KAB, to work, cut (Donner,
No. 161).
Henee Finnic ker-an, to hew, punish ;
Syrianian kar-ny, to make, kur-as, »
knife, kar-at, a plough, kur-at, the
evil spirit.
13. A/KAB, to injure (Donner, Nos.
161, 186, 189).
Hence kar, sharp, kttr-i, punishment,
kur-at, the evil spirit, kar-sin, to suffer,
kor-set, to injure, kar-was, herb, bitter.
14. A/KAE, to run (Donner, Nos.
133, 216, 217).
Hence Finnic kar-an, to run, jump,
ker-ap, a carriage, kar-bes, a boat. Cf.
A/KAL, to flow, to go. Hence Turkic
gel, a river ; Mongol gol, a river.
15. /S/KAL ( = kul) to stand up, to
project (Donner, Nos. 221, 222).
Hence Finnic kol-lo, a point, sum-
mit, holm, a hill, kor-si, haulm, kor-si,
kur-o, straw.
16. A/KAE, to be rough, sharp,
(Donner, Nos. 125-50).
Hence Finnic kar-a, a bough, ker,
iron, gor, a plough.
Primitive Seat of the Aryans.
261
ARYAN BOOTS.
17. A/KAR ( = har), to curve or roll
(Skeat, No. 56).
Hence cir-cle, cor-ona, crown, curve,
gar-den, hor-tus, \opoQ, \op-ro<; ; Sans-
krit, kri-mi, a worm ; Keltic, cru-im, a
worm ; Latin vermis.
18. A/KAR ( = har), to turn (Skeat,
No. 57).
Hence Latin car-bo, English car-Ion,
hearth, kil-n,
19. A/KAB ( = kal, hal), to call, ex-
claim, cry out (Skeat, No. 58).
Hence Latin clamo ; English call.
FINNIC ROOTS.
17. A/KAB, to curve (Donner, Nos.
165-178).
Hence Finnic ker-i, a circle, ker-i, a
wheel, kar-i, a bow, kar-tano, a court,
farmyard, gar-dde, a cattle-stall, kdr-
me, a snake.
18. A/KAB, to burn (Donner, No.
149).
Hence Finnic kar-tuan, to burn.
19. A/K.AR, to cry (Donner, No. 164),
Cf. A/KAL, to howl or cry.
'Here are 19 of Skeat's ultimate Aryan verbal roots, not selected,
but taken consecutively as he gives them, which are identical
in meaning and sound with 19 of Donner's ultimate Finnic
verbal roots.
It is absolutely impossible that the coincidence should be
accidental. The test fairly applied, proves that the Aryan and
Finnic languages were manufactured out of the same materials.
The resemblances could have been exhibited in a more
striking form by taking the Aryan roots as given by Tick,
whose analysis goes deeper, but I have taken those given by
Skeat because they are more accessible, and because the alpha-
betical order in which he gives them precludes any possibility
•of cooking the evidence.
A few more selected roots may be added to the foregoing
st:—
ABYAN ROOTS.
20. A/KAS, to cough (Skeat, No. 68.)
21. A/KAS, to bless, praise (Skeat,
No. 66.)
Evidently a secondary sense of 20.
22. A/KAR, to bound alont;, speed.
Hence has-te ; German hase, hare.
23. A/KER, to swell out, to be hollow
(Skeat, No. 74).
Hence coelam, cave.
24. A/GAL ( = kaT), to freeze, be cold
(Skeat, No. 99).
25. /V/VAD, to be wet.
Hence English wet, wade.
FINNIC ROOTS.
20. A/KAS, to sneeze, to cough (Don-
ner, No. 9fl).
21. A/KAS, to praise (Donner).
Hence Finnic cas-en, to command,
kazin, to promise, koz-mala, koz-oni, to
thank, to bless.
22. A/KAS, to speed (Donner, Nos.
94, 107).
Hence Finnic kas-ka, quick, koz-el,
a spinning wheel, kos-k, a torrent.
23. A/HUH, to swell out, and A/Ktrv,
to be bent or hollow (Donner, Nos.
121, 122,292-299).
Hence Finnic kuov-at, to excavate,
kav-a, belly, kav-is, hoof.
24. A/KAL, to be cold (Donner, Nos.
200-214).
25. A/VAD, to be wet.
Hence Mordwin vad, water; Tschere-
rnis vid, water; Magyar, viz., water;
Esth vessi, water ; Suomi vesi, water.
262 CANON TAYLOR. — Tlie Origin and
I would only notice that the Aryan did not separate from the
Finnic language before the secondary meaning of some of these
roots had been developed. Thus in Aryan and Finnic has, to
sneeze, had developed the meaning of " to bless" ; kak, to bend,
had developed the meaning " to excrete" ; kar, to do, had become
kar, to work evil, to injure ; and kal, to cry out, and ken, to
sing, had become kam, to love.
Moreover the Finnic roots often throw valuable light on
obscure Aryan etymologies, and make it possible to classify the
ultimate Aryan roots in a way which otherwise would be
impossible.
Not only are the verbal roots and the grammatical structure
identical in the Aryan and Finnic tongues, but those primitive
words which are usually common to related languages, and
which cannot, like culture words, have well been borrowed.
Such words are those denoting the primary relations of life — the
pronouns and the numerals.
That the pronouns are substantially identical I have shown
in examining the pronominal suffixes of the verb, which
exhibit the pronouns in their oldest forms, and I will, therefore,
pass on to the words denoting the fundamental relationships of
life, words for father, mother, uncle, aunt, son, daughter, brother,
and sister — words which, as Diefenbach affirms, show identical
primitive racial affinities, and not contact — words which he
goes on to say penetrate into the primitive structure of all the
Turanian languages, and vary according to phonetic laws in a
host of dialects, showing a deviation from the primitive Tura-
nian Ursprache — words like suser for sister, used not only by
the European Finns, but by the Eastern Finns on the Wolga,
and by the Wotiaks on the Arctic Ocean, and which in no
conceivable manner could have been derived by those distant
tribes from the German Schwester.
I do not attach so much importance to the words for father
and mother, as these being the easiest words for children to
pronounce may be the same in unrelated languages.
We may, however, compare the Aryan mama, mother, with
the Esthonian cma, mother, the Ostiak ima, wife, the Magyar
erne, woman, the Karelian maamo, mother, and the Syria nian
mam, mother.
We may also compare the Suomi taatt, father, the Esthonian
taat, father, with the Indian tata, Greek rara, Gothic, atta, and
the English and Keltic daddy and dad.
Still more to the point are the words for son and daughter.
We have in Syrianiaii pi, son, in Magyar fiu, son, in Ostiak
poll, son, Suomi poig, boy, in Esthonian, pois, pojn, boy, which
may be compared with Greek Trais, our ~boy, Greek i5i09, and
Primitive Seat of the Aryans. 263
Latin fi-lius. In Suomi we have tytar, daughter, and the words
tytto, tytar, for daughter, run through the Finnic languages,
and can hardly have been borrowed from the Aryan, since tuta
means " elder sister " in the Tatar languages.
With the Finnic sozer, sister, we may compare the Lithuanian
sesser, the .Sanskrit svasar, the Gothic svistar, and the Slavonic
sestra.
The Aryan and Finnic stem martya, mard, denoting homo, has
penetrated so deep into the Finnic languages that it has be-
come the base of the ethnic name of the Mordwins, " the men."
Homo is mort in Syriauian, mart, mort, murt, in the Permian
dialects, and murd in Wotiak. The Latin vir is mirda in Mord-
win, mara in Tscheremis, and feig in Magyar, mes in Olonez,
mees in Esthonian, mios in Tschud.
In Esth and Lithuanian mes is husband, in Suomi mies is
husband, which may be compared with the Latin mas. With
the Latin vir the Lettish virs, and the Lithuanian vyras we may
compare the Syrianian veros, husband, Magyar ur, husband.
With the Latin mulier and Italian moglia, a wife, we may
compare Finnic muija, wife.
With the Latin maritus and our marriage, and Lithuanian
marti (genitive marzcicos}, a bride, compare Finnic morsian, a
bride.
With the Finnic nepa, a nephew, we may compare the Iranian
napat, nephew, the Anglo-Saxon nefa, a nephew, Old High
German nefo, Latin, nepos, Sanskrit, napat.
Not only do the names of these relationships correspond, but a
primitive identity in the numerals up to ten may probably be
traced. In most cases the ordinary numerals differ in Aryan and
Finnic, but there are traces of older numerals which seem to agree.
Thus, the ordinary Finnic 10 is kume, kumen, or kymmenen,
but we have a relic of an older 10.
The Syrianian das, 10, and Magyar tiz, 10, which are related
to Latin decem, as is shown by the Esthonian, in which ut-tesa
is 9 (i.e., 10 — 1) while kat-tesa is 8 (i.e., 10—2).
Here plainly tesa denotes 10. Now in Suomi yh-deksan is 9
(10 — 1), kah-deksan is 8 (10 — 2).
Hence the primitive Finnic word for 10 was deksan. The fact
that it occurs only in composition shows it could not have been
borrowed. It enters into the very structure of the numerals for
eight and nine, which no borrowed numeral would have done.
The Finnic words for 7 are seitsema (n), seitza, seittem,
and sebet, with which we may compare the 7 of the Aryan
languages, such as the Irish secht from sechten, the Welsh seith,
the Lithuanian septyni, the Gothic sibun, the Old Slavonic
sedmi, and the Sanskrit saptan.
264 OAXON TAYLOE. — Tlie Origin and
The Finnic 2 is kat or kaksi. It appears that this was the
primitive Aryan 2, for the Zend kshvas, 6, points to an original
initial guttural, justifying Prof. Goldschicher's view that it
stands for ka-katwar =2 + 4.
For 100 we have from the stem katam, the Sanskrit catam, the
Greek e/carov, and the Latin centum. In Finnic languages we
have the Suomi sata, the Livonian sada, the Mordwin sada, the
Wogul sat, the Magyar szas.
The physical and linguistic resemblances between the Finnic
and Aryan races are too deep to be explained by commercial
intercourse, by wars, slavery, or migration, or as Penka argues,
by geographical contact. Penka admits that they are so funda-
mental that they must go back to a very remote era. They
extend to the Asiatic as well as to the European Finns ; and,
therefore, Penka thinks, must go back to the time when the
Finnic races were still undivided.
Diefenbach holds, more reasonably as I think, that the pro-
nominal suffixes of the verb, and the common verbal roots
establish a primitive connection, and that the Finnic speech is
the link between Aryan and Turanian languages. The common
verbal roots and the words for relationship cannot be explained as
loan words, since they vary according to the laws of phonetic
correspondence, in the Asiatic as well as the European dia-
lects, and they must, therefore, have belonged to the Finnic
Ursprache.
The real difficulty lies in the fact that the physical resem-
blance exists only between the western Finns and the northern
Aryans, neither the eastern Finns nor the southern Aryans
exhibiting the pure Aryan type — tall, blue-eyed, and fair-
haired.
This can be explained, if we suppose that the eastern Finns
are Ugrians, and not Finns by blood, just as the Slaves, who
agree with the Ugrians in type are probably not Aryan by
blood ; while the Mediterranean races are Iberian in blood and
only Aryan in speech.
The most probable solution seems to be that in the western
part of the primitive Finnic area, the more favourable physical
conditions led to a development of the Finnic type and Finnic
speech, into what we call the Aryan type and Aryan speech,
while among the more northern portion of the Finnic race under
the less favourable conditions found in the marshes of Finland,
there was an arrested development, leaving the Suomi Finns and
the Esthonians as survivals in race and language of the primi-
tive race from which the Aryans sprang.
If we thus regard the Aryans as developed out of the Finnic
family, we need no longer suppose that separate families
Primitive Seat of the Aryans.
branched off from the primitive Aryan stock, and migrated to
the west, but we may think rather of a vast Finnic population
spread over the great plain of Northern Europe, and there slowly
developing the characteristics of Aryan speech, and gradually
becoming differentiated by geographical separation — an inclined
plane, as it were of race and language divided into separate
stages or stairs, so to speak, by the destruction of the interme-
diate portions ; those to the west becoming Kelts, those to the
south extending their dominion and speech over the Iberian
tribes, and those to the east over the cognate Ugrians — the last
to separate being the Iranians and Indians, who exhibit a marked
affinity to the Lithuanians, who remained in their original seats,
side by side with the Esthonians and other advanced Finnic
peoples.
This seems more probable than the hypothesis that a primi-
tive pastoral tribe on the head waters of the Oxus, threw off
successive hordes which marched westward into Europe.
The date of the separation of the Aryan from the Finnic
stock cannot well have been less than 6,000 years ago, and it
may be interesting to inquire, in conclusion, what linguistic
science teaches us as to the common element of civilisation then
possessed by the undivided people, as shown by the culture
words common to the Aryan and Finnic languages, and which,
because of their wide extension, cannot well have been mere
loan words.
In the discussion of the verbal roots which are identical in
Aryan and Finnic, it will have been noticed that from identical
roots, wholly different words have been formed to denote the
same things. Thus from the root kap we have cap-ut and /ce(f>-a\r)
in Aryan, and kop-aska, a skull, in Finnic. The root is the same,
but the formatives are different. From the root kam we have
cam-era in Aryan and kam-ma in Finnic. From the root kar
we have gla-dius, Jcur-as, cur-ru, kar-an, cor-ade, car-bes, car-
riage, ker-ap, cul-mus, and korsi. In these cases the words seem
to have been formed subsequently to the separation of Finns
and Aryans.
But in the case of a few of the primary necessaries of life,
the words as well as the roots are the same, and hence we may
deduce the state of civilisation arrived at before the separation.
Assuming that the Proto- Aryan race was originated in a cold
climate, shelter must have been imperative, and accordingly from
the root kat, to cover, we get the words hut and cot (Old High
German huota, Anglo-Saxon cyt-a, Old Norse kof). Now these
words run through the whole of the Finnic languages, Asiatic
and European, so that they cannot be Aryan loan words. The
word for a house or dwelling is kot-a in Suomi, kod-a in Esiho-
266 CANON TAYLOR. — TJie Origin and
nian, goat-te in Lapp, kud-o in Mordwin, kud-o in Tscheremis,
kat and kuz in the two Ostiak dialects, haz in Magyar, and kot-o in
Mongolian.
They must also have required clothes, and from the same root
kat, to cover, which gives us the root for the primitive hut or
cot, we get the Aryan word coat. The Finnic languages show
that the primitive people were clad only in the skins of animals,
since the skin or hide of an animal is kut in "Wotiak, ked in
Mordwin, and kete in Suomi.
If, as we shall presently see, they possessed domesticated
animals they must have had enclosures. From the root kar, to
surround or gird, we get, with the formative t, that which girded
or surrounded. We have such words as yar-d, gar-den, and hor-
tus, in Aryan languages, while in Finnic languages a garden is
kar-t in Suomi, kdr-t in Magyar ; kar-ta is a cowbyre in Syria-
nian, a farmyard is kar-ta in Ostiak and Wogul, and gar-dele,
is a circle in Lapp.
Their domesticated animals seem to have been the stag,
which is eer-vus in Latin, kar-w in Welsh, har-t in English, and
hir-sch in German. The Finnic languages have the same name
for the stag or probably for the reindeer. A stag is har-v in
Esthonian, hir-vi in Suomi, sar-v in Lapp, and szar-vas in
Magyar. This probably meant the horned one, as a horn is sarvi
in Suomi, szarv in Magyar, and cur in Tscheremis, from the root
kar, to be hard. The connection of cervus and cornu, hart, hard,
and horn is thus explained.
The goat seems also to have been domesticated. It is caper,
in Latin, and hafr, in Old Norse, the same as the Finnic
kapris and the Lapp habres, all from the root kap, common to
Aryan and Finnic, meaning to move to and fro, and hence to
jump.
The ox, which is taurus in Latin, and tarw in Keltic, is tarwas
in Finnic, but this is probably a loan word.
The pig, which is porcus in Latin, is porsas is Esthonian, puros
or pores in Ostiak, pors in Syrianian, boros in Wogul, porzas in
Wotiak, and gurtz in Mordwin.
With the Greek iTriros and the Keltic epo- we may com-
pare the Suomi hepo, and the Ostiak kopta, a horse, and the
SamoyecJ habta, an ox, and the Finnic kdba, a horse's hoof.
These seem to be connected with the Finnic from the root ^/hap
to speed, haste.
These animals were' not only kept in enclosures, but tended by
herdsmen, as appears from the fact that a shepherd is 'noi^v
in Greek, and piema (genitive pemens) in Lithuanian, and paimcn
in Finnic.
The goose is xnv in Greek, and gas in Old Norse, Swedish,
Primitive Seat of the Aryans. 267
and Eussian. It is gaz in the Tatar languages, and hanhi in
Finnic.
Of the metals the undivided race seem to have known gold
and copper, the two metals which are found in a metallic
state.
All through the Finnic languages, we have the root kol, kil, or
Tail, meaning to shine, to be yellow. It is seen in the Tscheremis
kul-a, and the Finnic kul-la, yellow, and the Esthonian kul-u,
yellow, unmown grass. Hence we get the Suomi kul-ta, the
Esthonian kuld, the Lapp golle, which means gold, and the
Samoyed kola, the Tatar kola and the gule, which means brass
or copper. In Aryan languages, we have the same name from
the same root ghal, to be green or yellow (whence the Latin
lutum), or gJutr, to shine. Hence the Lithuanian geltas, yellow,
and the Gothic gulth, gold. It is possible that this may be a
loan word, but if so, it seems to have been a Finnic word
borrowed by the Aryans.
As for copper the case is stronger. No Aryan etymology is
known for the Latin ces, the Gothic ais, and the Sanskrit ayas.
But the root seems to be the Turkic \/as, to dig, seen in the
Tchagatai es-mek, and the Jakut kas, to dig. In the Finnic
languages, copper is vas-ki in Suomi, vas in Old Magyar, and air
in Lapp. Ahlquist remarks that the name for copper being the
same among the Finns and eastern Ugrians is a proof that this
metal was known prior to the separation of the Finnic race.
The Finnic rauta, iron, was probably at first a name for metal
in general. In Accadian uruda is copper, in Pehlvi rod is
bronze, metal is ruda in Slavonic and Lithuanian, which may
be compared with the Livonian roda, metal, and the Suomi
rauta, iron.
An iron sword is kareta in Irish and ker in Kurdish, which
are probably only loan words from the Finnic. In Suomi a
dagger is karti, and a knife is kuras. Iron is karti in Ostiak,
kort in Wotiak, and ker in Wogul, which come from the Finnic
root </kar, to be hard.
That the sea was known to the primitive Aryans appears
from the fact that it is mira in Sanskrit, mare in Latin, mor in
Keltic, morje, in Slavonic, meer in German. But it was known
to the undivided Finnic race by the same name. We have meri
in Tschud, merri in Esthonian, mdrra in Lapp, mora in
Syrianian, morja in Wotiak, and more in Mordwin.
The Latin in-sula, and the Lithuanian sala, an island, have
been referred to the Sanskrit sara, water. A more probable
etymology is the Finnic salo and saari, the Lapp suolo, and the
Livonian sala. This seems to be related to the word for salt,
which runs through the Finnic languages. We have —
268 CANON TAYLOR. — The Origin and
Suomi . . . . . . suol-a.
Veps . . . . . . sol-a.
Estli . . . . . . sol.
Lief . . . . . . suol.
Syrianian . . . . sol, so.
Permian . . . . sol, sov.
Wotiak . . . . sil-al.
Mordwin . . . . sal.
Tscheremis . . . . san-zal.
Magyar . . . . so.
Ostiak . . . . . . sot.
Wogul . . . . . . sol-mi.
Samoyed . . . . ser, silo, salt.
Dormer (No. 724) takes it from \/sal,io glitter, white, shining.
The word sal runs through the Aryan languages of Europe, but
not of Asia; it is found in Latin, Greek, Teutonic, Keltic, and
Slavonic.
Fick says this root is */sar or \/sal, to go, and connects it
with ser-um, milk, and sal, island, in in-sula, and the Sanskrit
sara, water, milk. But surely the Finnic etymology — white,
glittering, is to be preferred.
The primitive Aryans possessed ships as appears from the
Sanskrit nau, the Iranian nave, the Greek z/au<?, the Latin navis,
the Keltic nau, but this word does not appear in Finnic lan-
guages. The German kahn, which reappears in Old Norse, and
in Low German, seems to be the Finnic kiina, a small boat, ap-
parently derived from the Finnic kyna, a hollow tree.
Salmon is lohi in Finnic, which may be compared with the
Russian loch and the German lachs.
Cheese is kus in Finnic, probably the same as our word cheese,
and the Latin jus, broth. This seems to show that the cheese
was only curds.
The Indian soma, Iranian homa, the drink of the gods, may, I
think, be explained by the Finnic sima, honey or mead. In
Magyar som-joh is thirst, in Mordwin, sem-an is to drink, and
sim-ina means drunken. In Livonian sdm is drunk, and sem-a
is milk.
The Aryan Tcard, beast, may be compared with the Finnic root
kar, to jump or spring.
A name is nim in Syrianian, nimi in Suomi, nem in Ostiak,
and nev in Magyar. To count is leg-ere in Latin, and luk-ea in
Finnic.
With the Latin candela we may compare the Suomi kiintela,
the Wotiak kuntteli, the Lapp kyndel. and the Mordwin sandal.
It appears, therefore, that prior to the separation of the
Primitive Seat of tlie Aryans. 269
Aryan and Finnic races, they were acquainted with copper and
probably with gold, but their tools were chiefly of horn or stone.
They sheltered themselves in huts, and were clad in skins, but
there is no evidence that they possessed the art of weaving.
They knew how to kindle fire, they could count up to ten, pos-
sibly up to a hundred. They had personal names, while family
relationship and marriage were fully recognised. They were
acquainted with the sea, and may have been able to cross lakes
or rivers in canoes made of hollow trees. They caught salmon
and used salt, and gathered bitter herbs for food, or more pro-
bably for condiment. It does not appear certain that they
grew grain or were acquainted with the rudiments of agriculture,
the' name of the Finnic plough, kar, the crooked branch of a tree,
being only doubtfully connected with the name of the Aryan
plough. They collected honey, out of which they made an in-
toxicating drink, and made a sort of soft cheese, like curds.
They possessed herds of domesticated animals which were tended
by herdsmen, and were kept in fenced enclosures. These
animals were probably goats, swine, reindeer, and geese, and
possibly oxen, but the dog, the sheep, and the horse seem to
have been as yet untamed.
In conclusion I may add that if this hypothesis, as to the
primitive identity of the Aryan and Finnic races be finally es-
tablished, a world of light will be thrown upon many difficulties
as to the primitive significance of obscure Aryan roots (salt,
ces, arare), and the nature of the primitive Aryan grammar.
We are furnished, in fact, with a new and powerful instru-
ment of philological investigation, which can hardly fail to yield
important results. Comparative Aryan philology must be pre-
pared henceforth to take account of the Finnic languages as
affording the oldest materials which are available for comparison.
DISCUSSION.
Prof. KEANE remarked that no doubt Canon Taylor had ad-
vanced some striking arguments in favour of a Finnish, descent of
the first Aryan-speaking populations. But some very formidable
difficulties would have to be removed before that theory could meet
with general acceptance. Much stress was laid on the fact that
the Finns were physically a European (Caucasic) rather than an
Asiatic (Mongolic) people, and the suggestion that their resem-
blance to the surrounding Teutonic populations might be due to
long contact and gradual assimilation was rejected as to the last
degree improbable. But within the Ural-Altaic family itself, of
which the Finns have hitherto been regarded as outlying members,
such assimilation had actually taken place in comparatively recent
times. Obvious instances were the Bulgarians, Magyars, and Osmanli
VOL. XVII. T
270 Discussion.
Turks, some of whom no doubi here and there still betrayed traces
of their Ugrian and Turkic descent, but most of whom were now
scarcely to be distinguished from ordinary Europeans. What,
therefore, had happened in the Balkan Peninsula arid Hungary
within the last few hundred years might well have happened in
Finland within the last few thousand years, during which we now
know the Suomi people have been in close contact with Norse and
other Germanic as well as Slavonic tribes. For a long time large
tracts in South and West Finland, where the population is chiefly
centred, have been occupied by Swedish settlers, and the Swedish
language is even still current along the seaboard from Abo east-
wards to Wyborg, and northwards to Uleaborg. For ages the whole
region has been an area of intense intermingling, which has
resulted in the Tavastians, or western Finns, of somewhat
Germanic type, and the Karelians, or eastern Finns, more nearly
allied to the Slavs. The primitive Finnish type has thus been
no doubt considerably modified in Finland itself, and even in
Lapland. But the true Mongolic character of that type is clearly
revealed in their eastern neighbours the Samoyedes, who speak a
closely related language, and who, being less exposed to invasion
in their inhospitable northern homes, have far better preserved the
physical features of the common original stock. It should also be
noted that these features may still be detected in the dirty white,
never really florid complexion, brachycephalous head, broad face,
large mouth, small and sometimes even oblique eyes, and beardless
face, of the Quans and Ostrobothnians of Central and Northern
Finland, who have also formed some isolated settlements in Central
Scandinavia. With regard to the curious theory that the primitive
Aryans were differentiated from the Finnish stock by a process of
albinoism in the marshy lowlands of Central Europe, it should be
borne in mind that albinoism is essentially a morbid affection,
which, if due to unfavourable conditions, would again disappear in
a more salubrious environment. Hence, the feeble white Russians
of the Rokytiio swamps, Poesche's land of albinoism in a pre-
eminent sense, become as vigorous and energetic as any other Slav
people when removed to more healthy districts. The so-called
" albinoism " of the typical Germanic race, the finest in the world,
can in no way be regarded as pathological, and was certainly
evolved, not in the sickly Pinsk marsh lands, but in the invigo-
rating atmosphere of some breezy upland or marine region.
Nor does Canon Taylor's philological argument seem to carry
more weight than that based on anthropological considerations.
Notwithstanding certain points of resemblance, chiefly lexical, a
profound abyss si ill separates the Aryan from the Ural-Altaic
linguistic family, of which the Finnic is confessedly a member.
The lexical affinities have been carefully studied by W. Thomsen,
in his classical work " Ueber den Einfluss der germanischen
Sprachen auf die finnisch lappischen," and this eminent Danish
philologist would be about the last person to suggest a Finnish
origin for the Aryan languages. In a lecture delivered some three
Discussion. 271
years ago in Copenhagen he dwelt more directly on this point,
remarking in reference to Andersen's well-known " Finnish pro-
clivities," that it was open to anyone to assert an extremely remote
connection of Aryan and Finnic ; but although these languages
might be perhaps more nearly related than Aryan and Semitic,
still the distance was so great, that in the present state of our
knowledge, the relation could neither be affirmed nor denied. The
theory was a pure hypothesis of no scientific value, because based
on no solid groundwork of fact. Certainly this groundwork,
which specialists such as Thomson and Winkler have failed to
discover, has not been supplied by Canon Taylor's verbal com-
parisons, made before even an attempt has been made to establish a
common Finno- Aryan system of Lautverschiebung. Winkler, whose
monumental work on the Ural-Altaic races and languages is still
in progress, distinctly asserts that, even in its present advanced
state, Finnish can in no way be regarded as an inflecting language.
The point has been so much discussed, and is of so much im-
portance in the present connection, that it may be well to quote his
very words : " Meine Ansichten werden sich im Fortgange ergehen,
so namentlich dass ich nicht entfernt die finnischen Sprachen fur
flexivische halten kann " (" Uralaltaische Volker," I, p. 54). But
if Finnish has not even yet approached the inflecting state, what
was its condition some 5,000 or 6,000 years ago, the period to which
Canon Taylor refers the separation of the Finnic and Aryan
stocks ? And can it be for a moment supposed that, starting from
such crude beginnings, it had time to develop into the highly
inflecting organic Aryan speech, which had itself already become
differentiated into the Indian, Iranian, Hellenic, Italic, and other
well marked groups, such as we find them at the very dawn of.
history? [t should be observed that throughout the whole of their
historic life, the Finno- Tatar and Aryan languages have been
pursuing two opposite lines of development, the former ascending
from rude agglutination in the direction of inflection, the latter
descending from the very highest forms of inflection down to the
analytic state, as illustrated, for instance, in English, Danish, and
Persian. This disintegrating process must certainly have been
going on for a much longer period than Canon Taylor's 5,000 or
6,000 years, as must be obvious when we remember the profound
differences already separating the Keltic, Italic, Teutonic, and
other branches upwards of 2,000 years ago. Consequently at the
assumed date of the Finno- Aryan dispersion the Finnish was in a
very low state of agglutination, while the Aryan was much more
highly inflected even than any of its present representatives, as
known to us in their most archaic forms. It follows that Canon
Taylor allows absolutely no time at all for the tremendous tran-
sition from the agglutinating Finnish to the inflecting Aryan form
of speech, as postulated by his or Andersen's theory.
Then we are asked to believe that the Slavs are mainly
Aryanised Ugrians, and the South Europeans Aryanised Iberians,
which only intensifies the difficulties standing in the way of this
T 2
272 Discussion.
theory. For, although not intrinsically impossible, such startling
transformations could not be effected in a moment by a touch of
the magician's wand, but would require a vast period of time,
which is precisely the very factor Canon Taylor suicidically
eliminates from his hypothesis. The Slavs are not merely
Aryanised in speech, but, if originally Ugrian Finns, they have
most of them long become almost typical Europeans in their
physical features ; for it would be difficult to discover in Western
Europe more regular features, more finely modelled heads than
those which we currently meet, even amongst the peasantry in
Montenegro, Servia, Croatia, Poland, Bohemia, and many parts of
Russia. All these Sarmatians were 2,000 years ago as distinct as
they now are from the surrounding Scythian populations, so that
the hypothesis allows at the very utmost only 4.000 years to effect
the astounding transformation from an Ugrian Finn, or, say, from a
Wogul or an Ostyak, to the ideally beautiful Caucasic type. Such
a transition might no doubt be brought about by the absorption of a
few Ugrians in a large mass of Western Aryans. But the assumed
process was all the other way, the great body of the " Ugrian
Slavs" being supposed to be Aryanised by a few " Finno- Aryan "
conquerors from the region between the Rhine and Vistula, where
we are told the Finns were originally transformed to Aryans in
speech and type. Thus, from whatever point of view the theory
is approached, it seems to fade away from the safe ground of fact
into the airy region of doubtful or untenable hypothesis.
ME. BouvERiE-PusEY remarked in reference to an observation by
Prof. Keane on the Bulgarians, that the Bulgarian peasantry of
the neighbourhood of Sofia seen by the speaker last year, closely
resembled in their features the Chinese.
Mr. STUART GLENN IE said that according to Retzius,
Kranier (1878), two distinct types were to be distinguished among
the Finlanders, a dark and a fair type ; and this fair element
Quatrefages connects with those non-Semitic and non-Aryan
white races to which he has given the name of Allophyllian, but
which might, perhaps, be preferably named Archaian, if races of
this stock are found to have been the initiators of the archaic
civilisations that preceded the Semitic and Aryan civilisations.
From such a white race Mr. Stuart Grlennie thought that it might
be found possible to show that the Aryans were derived, though he
could not accept their derivation from a race of the Turanian
stock. He would add that, raised as the Kelts now undoubtedly
are, he questioned very much whether their claim to be considered
as a primitive, or the primitive Aryan race could be justly set
aside so summarily as by Penka in favour of the Scandinavians.
Mr. HYDE CLARKE writes, that seeing so many visitors were pre-
sent, whom it WHS desirable to hear, he reserved his remarks for
the Journal. He considered that the paper of Canon Taylor
opened up the question of the relations of comparative philology
with anthropological science generally. Those relations are of a
Discussion. 273
most unsatisfactory character, and this was illustrated by the
Canon, for his allegations were not such as to command the
adhesion of the naturalists present. He leaned on authority,
instead of depending on facts open to every observer, as in other
departments of natural science. Nevertheless, he stated that the
authorities had been altogether wrong on this Aryan question, and
were now to be abandoned. With a colleague he had adhered to
the proto-prophet of Aryanism in this country until two years ago.
They now proposed to transfer their allegiance to some other
authorities in Germany, for whose accuracy he vouched, and for
whom he solicited implicit credence, though the two chief ex-
ponents of the new version of Aryanism do not agree with each
other. It might have been hoped that dependence on authorities
had ceased in every branch of science. The new scheme of
Aryanism only amounts to a shifting of the scenery of the old
theory at a moment when by an accumulation of evidence it has
been condemned. The departing Aryanism with its philology and
mythology depends on the myth of a proto- Aryan language. For
this is substituted another speculation of a pre-historic union of
the proto- Ay ran and the proto-Finnish languages, for we may
for the time dismiss points as to race. The evidence in sup-
port of this speculation is altogether valueless, because it will
prove many other various propositions. Such a union of Indo-
European and Finnic does not necessarily imply a union with the
whole body of the Altaic languages, because such a class as Altaic
is an artificial classification when regarded practically. It would,
however, embody Finnic even to Magyar, and most probably a
large mass of languages in the Himalayas.1 Such a union would be
attended by a confusion of languages, races and historical incidents
causing still greater difficulties in obtaining a clear solution. The
lately dominant philology of the authorities was a survival
of the doctrine of the Semitic archetype of language, having
in alliance the later invention of Sanskritism, as another pre-
eminent type. To study a Semitic grammar or a Sanskrit
grammar gave the title of scholarship and of the doctorate.
All else was outside the sacred bounds. The course of events
in England and France has brought about a revolution. Chinese
studies have maintained and assorted their independence and
dignity. The establishment of the philology of the Dravidian
languages by Bishop Caldwell and our other Indian scholars has
created another domain. The attention which has been bestowed
on the promotion of Egyptian and cuneiform investigations has
most materially influenced the minds of the learned, notwith-
standing the dogged resistance of the authorities to the results of
discovery. The labours of Bleek in Bantu ; of our missionaries in
Australasian and Polynesian languages ; and of American men of
science in the Indian languages, have all contributed to attract
1 " Himalayan Connections of the Magyar," by Hyde Clarke, in " Journ.
Anthrop. Inst."
274 Discussion.
notice to the despised " Turanian." Not the least among the
operative influences have been the exertions during a long genera-
tion of our two Societies, and the Anthropological Institute, which
now exists in their union. The Institute has always recognised
philology as a legitimate branch of anthropology, and has been
the means of publishing papers, and of stimulating researches,
which have brought forward much new evidence, registered in our
journals, on languages, and on collateral information relative to
them, which were new to inquirers. Prof. Huxley, during
his Presidency, induced that remarkable scholar Dr. Bleek to
contribute to our pages, and his writings may be usefully referred
to in their bearing on the Canon's conclusions. Upon the Aryan
problem contributions will also be found in our volumes. So
far from its being the case that the philologists of Germany are
enrolled in support of his phase of Aryanism, the school of
"new philology " has organised itself under direction of Dr. Carl
Abel and other eminent leaders ; last year was held the first Con-
ference, and this year the second. Indeed, beyond its influence
in the special study of Sanskrit, Aryanism is not now regarded as
a reigning power. Canon Taylor has marshalled a large number
of cases to show the connexion of Indo-European and Finnic, and
most of these may be admitted without accepting his conclusions.
They relate to incidents which result from the original laws of the
formation of language, or to what may be found in many other
languages besides Indo-European and Finnic. One great cause of
the present backward condition of authoritative philology is the pre-
ference of its scholastic votaries for grammatical construction and
the neglect of words, which should be the primary study. Thus
languages are classified by grammatical peculiarities, which, after
all, are not typical or characteristic. The Altaic languages are
brought together from several groups, which have no connection
of words. In the Turkic group a man may, with little practice,
work his way among a number of tribes from the European
frontier to that of China, but this will not help him with Magyar,
Mongol, or Manchoo, any more than with Japanese or Korean,
which it is now proposed to throw into the class. The elements of
comparative philology are to be found in manuals, and those
which are sufficient are very cheap, but little attention is paid to
facts, and much to imagination. Philology and psychology, as
branches of anthropology, are, indeed, much in the same condition.
To place the Aryans in Central or Eastern Europe, or in Scan-
dinavia, for thousands of years, is to create a difficulty in the working
of such incidents and events as we can discern. We should have to
admit that they allowed the Iberians to act in those regions and to
control the neighbouring countries of Europe. We must suppose that
until a measurable historical period they let Hellas and Italy alone,
even if there in the first instance they effected a forcible invasion.
We know that contemporaneously they occupied Persia and pene-
trated into India. At a very late period alone the central body of
the Aryans are to be supposed to have assailed the Roman Empire.
Discussion. 275
Apart from purely anthropological considerations, the historical
relations are most unfavourable to the hypothesis upon which
dependence is now placed, and which are less plausible than the
High Asia doctrine. In the whole matter we are called upon to
assume that the white races first entered on the scene when they
were albinoised in White Russia, when we know that the Aryan
epoch is only one late movement of the white races. If we cannot
as yet positively identify the originators and propagators of speech,
and the culture connected with it, as white races, or the intro-
ducers of culture into Egypt as such, we are compelled to suspend
our judgment in this consideration by the formation of the great
historical empires of antiquity by Turanian whites, and the exten-
sive remains we still have of white races. The Persian popu-
lation is that which was there before the Aryans, and the Georgian
nations, speaking highly organised languages, now disguised as
Alarodian, have been before now adopted as typical whites. Then
there are those remains of white populations in the central chains
of Asia referred to by Mr. Stuart Glennie, some of which speak
dialects approaching Indo-European ; but some, like the Lolos,
retain what is called Turanian culture. In considering possible
centres of the white migration, many circumstances should induce
us not to neglect High Africa. The data of Canon Taylor and
others as to the culture of the imaginary proto-Aryans and proto-
Finns are simply philological, and as such require to be compared
with the body of the vocabularies of Africa and America, when it
will be found that the special conditions relied upon cannot be
sustained, and are applicable to many populations. The argument
founded upon numerals is also weak, and requires correlation with
the main body of data, as numerals are of less value for determi-
nation than philologists have assumed. Indeed generalisations
from a specialised class must, as in other departments of nature,
be examined under the whole body of evidence to constitute real
and operative generalisations. The Canon has brought forward
M, T, and S, as decisive indices of the common origin of Indo-
European and Finnic as pronominal terminations in inflection.
The Canon knows that M, T,.and S figure strongly in Semitic
formations, and he may be reminded that they play their part in
the Bantu and in the Georgian. It is requisite therefore to use
caution in depending upon them in the instances cited, and so
with many examples. The reason why Mr. Clarke has gone more
fully into the general considerations is with the desire to call
attention to the present condition of philology at this period of
transition, as much as to Canon Taylor's paper as an exemplifica-
tion, and in the hope that the scientific study of philology may be
promoted.
276
ANTHROPOLOGICAL MISCELLANEA.
THE PRIMITIVE HUMAN HORDE.
MR. G. L. Gomme, in his suggestive paper printed in the Journal
of the Institute for November last (p. 118) states that the hypothesis
there stated is put forward for consideration, and as I take especial
interest in the subject discussed, and Mr. Gbmme refers to a paper
of mine, I propose to critically examine the evidence he furnishes
in support of his hypothesis. Before doing so, however, it may be
as well to see what is meant by " primitive human horde." The
idea, if not the phrase, is that of the late Dr. J. F. McLennan, and
it is necessary that we should know exactly what we are intended
to understand by it. The term horde is used by this distinguished
writer to denote a "primitive group" (" Studies in Ancient
History," p. 133), and it may be explained by the expression
" the earliest human groups " (p. 121). It is evident, therefore, that
before we can attach any definite meaning to that term, we must
ascertain the characteristics of the " primitive group." They are
as follows : —
(a.) The absence of any idea of kinship, and at first of consan-
guinity, although the latter idea would gradually be formed
and give rise to the conception of stocks (p. 121).
(6.) Homogeneousness — that is, all the members of a group
belong to the same stock (p. 183).
(c.) Promiscuity in the sexual relations (p. 134).
(d.) Uncertainty of paternity, with kinship through females
only gradually recognised (pp. 124-5).
(e.) Female infanticide, with scarcity and capture of women
(pp. 132-3), resulting in —
(/.) Exogamy.
We need say nothing about the " modification of promiscuity" to
which Dr. McLennan gives the title of the " ruder species of
polyandry," or the less rude polyandry which was developed by the
help of the system of kinship through females only (p. 138).
When a "primitive human horde " is spoken of as equivalent to
the "primitive group " or horde of Dr. McLennan, it must be sup-
posed that the former has all the characteristics of the latter.
When we examine Mr. Gomme's system, however, we find it is not
so. The characteristics of his primitive horde are as follows : —
Anthropological Miscellanea. 277
(a.) Recognition by natural instinct of connection between
parents and children, although quickly lost, and not used
for political purposes (p. 122).
(6.) Possession of a totem system or the germs of such a
system, with exogamy (pp. 127, 131).
(c.) Temporary monandry ; no evidence of " utter promiscuity"
(pp. 121-2).
(d.) Certainty of paternity and maternity, but recognition
only temporary induration and quickly lost (p. 122).
(e.) Infanticide did not produce scarcity of females (p. 131),
nor, by inference, lead to capture of women.
To these conclusions may be added that an artificially formed
organisation based on kinship was developed among migratory
hordes, who came into conflict with preceding hordes, and that,
owing to scarcity of women, polyandry arose among the former, in.
combination with descent through females (pp. 131-2).
The characteristics of Mr. Gomme's "primitive horde" are
clearly very different from those of Dr. McLennan's " primitive
group." The essential features of the latter are promiscuity in the
sexual relations, absence of the idea of kinship, uncertainty of
paternity, and female infanticide, causing scarcity of women and
consequent capture, i'eatures which are absent from the former.
Y/hen Mr. Gomme says there is " no excuse for using the term
'utter promiscuity,'" and "no reason again to suppose that
paternity was uncertain, and was, therefore, incapable of being
recognised" (p. 122), he cuts away the basis of Dr. McLennan's
theory. On the other hand, according to Mr. Gomme's hypothesis,
" the primitive human horde was kept together by outside forces,
not by internal arrangements " (p. 125), which is hardly consistent
with Dr. McLennan's statement' that, though a group of kindred
in the rudest stage " were chiefly held together by the feeling of
kindred, the apparent bond of fellowship between the members of
such a group would be that they and theirs had always been com-
panions in war or the chase — joint tenants of the same cave or
grove." Again Dr. McLennan says (p. 129) " It is inconceivable
that anything but the want of certainty on that point (paternity)
would have prevented the acknowledgement of kinship through
males," a statement which in advance condemns Mr. Gomme's
hypothesis ; for this supposes that in the primitive human horde
"both paternity and maternity were certain, and they were fully
recognised," although kiuship through females was the earliest to
be originated, and was so only in a migrating horde as the result of
conflict with a primitive horde.
So far, then, from Mr. Gomme having supplied evidence in
support of Dr. McLennan's theory of the primitive group or horde,
he has formulated something quite different. Let us now examine
1 " Studies," page 122, Mr. Gomme quotes a portion of this passage in support
of his view of " outside forces," but unfortunately he omits all the words before
" fellowship."
278 Anthropological Miscdlanea.
the arguments by which his hypothesis is supported. Mr. Gomme's
primitive horde consists of a group of individuals whose sexual
relations were those of " temporary monandry," in which a man
choses a woman and is husband to her " just so long as offspring is
begotten and requires protection." As soon as the offspring were
capable of taking care of themselves the parental tie was snapped
and the relationship ceased to be recognised. This group of indi-
viduals possessed or developed the principles of totemism and
exogamy, and was kept together (1) by "a totem organisation and
not a blood tie ; " and (2) by " the accumulated and accumulating
fears of the dangers that surrounded them," which fears found their
ultimate expression in a system of nature worship, and not by
" internal arrangements." Mr. Gomme remarks that it is impossible
to conceive that the union of parents would continue after the
offspring were capable of taking care of themselves, and in a note
he affirms that " many examples exist in savage society where the
parents separate after the birth of a child " (p. 122). It is a pity
some of these examples are not given. As a case in point I would
refer to the statement of Sir JBd. Belcher' in relation to the
Andamanese, of whom it is said that a man and woman separate as
a matter of course when their child is weaned, and each seeks a new
partner. This is, however, so entirely opposed to the actual facts
as now made known by Mr. E. H. Man, that we ought to be on our
guard against accepting casual observations of the social customs
of savages until they have been verified by careful research by
competent enquirers. Mr. Man's testimony as to marriage among
the Andamanese is that " so far from the contract being regarded
as a merely temporary arrangement, to be set aside at the will of
either party, no incompatibility of temper or other cause is allowed
to dissolve the union, and while bigamy, polygyny, polyandry, and
divorce are unknown, conjugal fidelity until death is not the
exception but the rule " (" Journ. Anthrop. Inst.," Vol. xii, p. 135.)
The only systematic use of "temporary monogamy" I am
acquainted with — isolated cases are almost valueless for the pur-
poses of a general argument— is that recognisd by the natives of
North America, who, when first visited by Europeans, had what
Mr. Lewis Morgan calls (" Ancient Society," p. 453) the syndyas-
mian or pairing family. This family was founded upon marriage
between single pairs and possessed some of the characteristics of
the monogamian family, although the marriage was a matter of
convenience and necessity, rather than of sentiment, and it con-
tinued only during the will of the parties. The husband " could
put away his wife at pleasure, and take another without offence,
and the woman enjoyed the equal right of leaving her husband and
accepting another, in which the usages of her tribe and gens were
not infringed." Not only have the American aborigines this simple
pairing family, but, like Mr. Gomme's primitive horde, they possess
1 Curiously enough, Sir John Lubbock cites this case as an instance of " com-
munal marriage." — " Origin of Civilisation," 3rd ed., page 82.
Anthropological Miscellanea. 279
the principles of totemism and exogamy. Their institutions may,
indeed, be said to be based on totemism, for the totem is the
symbol of the gens, and they possess the gentile institution, or, as
it was named by Schoolcraft, the totemic institution, fully
developed. The gens is said by Morgan (p. 63) to have been "the
instrumentality by means of which society was organised and held
together." It answers, therefore, to the totem organisation which
kept together Mr. Gomme's primitive horde, and we may assume
that the latter was based on the same ideas as the gens.
This is an important conclusion, for the gens came into being
upon three principal conceptions — the bond of kin, a pure lineage
through descent in the female line, and non-marriage in the gens.
One of its obligations is not to marry in the gens, and from it
springs the practice of exogamy. The existence of the totem
organisation in the primitive horde would thus require it to have
been bound together by the ties of kin, and the practice of
exogamy proves not only that kinship was fully recognised, but
that it had such a binding force. When, therefore, Mr. Gomme
states that " the horde possessed, or had developed, the principles
of totemism and exogamy," it is equivalent to admitting that the
primitive group consisted of persons related by blood, who were
not allowed to intermarry, and who, like the members of the gens,
were bound together by the ties of kinship.
The earliest American gentes appear to have preferred descent
in the female line, and as women lived with their children among
their husband's relations, each gens had members in more than
one tribe. It is clear that in such a case the influence of the
" outside forces " referred to by Mr. Gomme, would not suffice to
keep the group together. With descent in the male line the result
might be different, and so, also, where, with descent in the female
line, the wife'and her offspring reside with her kindred. This was
probably the case among the early Arabs, and the Arab tribe may
be said to answer as nearly as possible in most respects to
Mr. Gomme's primitive horde. Unfortunately, however, for his
hypothesis, Prof. Robertson Smith, who accepts Dr. McLennan's
views as to the early society, affirms (" Kinship and Marriage in
Early Arabia," p. 22) that " the tribal bond all over Arabia, so far
as our evidence goes, was conceived as a bond of kinship. All the
members of a group regarded themselves as of one blood." Else-
where (p. 227) Prof. Smith declares that "common blood, as indi-
cated by the common totem, is the only permanent bond of union,
and manifests itself as such whenever a blood-feud arises."
Mr. Gomme endeavours, however, to place his hypothesis on the
basis of fact, and he refers to a people of Central (?) Asia, the
Abors of Assam, as affording "the most singular specimen of the
primitive horde, both in respect of the external forces which keep
it together, and of the internal organisation which regulates the
conduct of individuals to one another " (p. 127). Those forces are
said to be so potent that Abor life must " depend almost entirely
upon local, not personal influences," and they are aided in keeping
280 Anthropological Miscellanea.
together the group by the totem system, which, however, has not
yet been discovered, although it is thought, by analogy to the case
of the neighbouring Khasias, to exist within the Ab.tr group. We
have seen that the totem is the symbol of a gens based on the bond
of kin, but Mr. Gomme mentions, as a definite fact, " which goes
far to establishing the theory that they represent a type of the
primitive horde," that, although externally the Abors make up one
group, " internally there are no traces of the cohesion resulting
from the ties of recognised kinship." What is the evidence
furnished in support of this assertion ? Mr. Gomme deplores that
minute examination of the social system of the Abors has not been
made, but he tells us that " they are like tigers — two cannot d\vell
in one den ; and their houses are scattered singly, or in groups of
two or three over the immense extent of mountainous country
occupied by them ; " and that whenever a few families of Abors
have united into a society, the community is soon broken up by
fierce feuds and summary vengeance. But, surely, if these are
facts they do not warrant the conclusion that the Abors are
" entirely free from the ties of kinship."
Mr. Gomme finds a close parallel between this people and the
Cyclopes, and, notwithstanding their complete geographical and
chronological discontinuity, supposes them to " belong to an epoch
in human history which witnessed the continuous population of this
long stretch of territory by groups of the Abor and Cyclop type."
Homer's language about the Cyclopes is said to furnish a short
summary of the social condition of the Abors. This people must,
therefore, be " a lawless folk, who plant not aught with their hands
neither plough," and they can have " neither gatherings for
•••ouncil nor oracles of law," but they dwell in hollow caves and
" reck not one of another," denoting that they were not bound
together by the tie of recognised kinship (p. 128). Now, what are
the actual facts ? Mr. H. R. Rowney, who mentions that the
Abors cannot live peacefully alongside of each other, states ("Wild
Tribes of India," p. 157) that they cultivate rice, cotton, tobacco,
maize, ginger, a great variety of esculent roots and pumpkins, the
suear-cane, and opium. Each man's clearing is marked off by up-
right stones, and they have various agricultural implements, which
are probably made by themselves, as they have the art of working
iron, and can make bells. We learn further of the Abors, that
their tribes form confederated states, and " each community is
governed by its own laws, devised and administered on purely
democratic principles. The laws are made by the people collected
together, every individual having an equal vote." Notwith-
standing their independent disposition, absolute obedience is given
to the decisions of the assembly of citizens, even where it concerns
only the course of daily labour. In fact, thev are a law-abiding
people, and crimes are considered as public pollutions which
require to be atoned for by a public sacrifice, which has ultimately
to be paid for by the guilty pei-son (Reclus, " Nouv. Geog. Univ.,"
Vol. VIII, p. 204; "Evolution of Morality," Vol. I, p. 148).
Anthropological Miscellanea. 281
Finally, so far from the Abors living only in scattered dwellings,
they have considerable villages, each of which has a town hall
where the unmarried men pass the night. These facts seem to me
to furnish sufficient evidence of the existence of "cohesion resulting
from the ties of recognised kinship," and if, as Mr. Gomuie asserts,
a more elaborate description of the Cyclopes than that given by
Homer is to be obtained from what is known of the Abors, the
former must have been somewhat libelled by the Greek poet.
So much for the modern specimen of the primitive horde
referred to by Mr. Gomme, who considers, however, that the Abors
" are but a type of the general aboriginal Indian group." In
support of this opinion he quotes a passage from Sir Alfred Lyall's
" Asiatic Studies," which refers to the Bheels as a " simple
aboriginal horde." This passage, Mr. Gomme thinks, is a remark-
able confirmation of his own conclusions. There are, however,
facts connected with the Bheels and other aboriginal Indian peoples
which forbid us to regard them as reproducing the characteristics
of a " primitive human horde." Notwithstanding their apparent
lawlessness and their old predatory habits, the Bheels exhibit
" great attachment for home and family, kindness towards women,
respect for their elders, and an unsophisticated love for truth "
(Rowney, p. 37). Their simplicity of character is remarkable,
and when confided in, they are the most trusty of servants. More-
over, the Bheels were not always the " outlaws " their present
name would lead us to believe. Their former pre-eminence is
denoted by the fact that on the crowning of a Rajpoot prince a
Bheel marks his forehead with drops of blood drawn from his
thumb and his great toe, and thus anoints him as native, and
transmits to him the right to possess the country (Reelus, " Nouv.
Geog. Univ.," Vol. VIII, p. 282).
Mr. Gomme supposes that the primitive hordes of hunters and
fishers were uninfluenced by the ties of kinship, and that later on
migrating hordes were enabled successfully to contend with them,
owing to their being organised on the basis of kin. An indication
that "the ties of kinship had already influenced human thought"
is found in the stated fact that " now, for the first time, the dead
are carefully buried." If, however, burial of the dead is evidence
of the recognition of kinship, this must be allowed to the Bheels,
who bury their females and children, although the males are burnt
along with their arms and cooking utensils. Funeral rites have,
in reality, no bearing on* the question of kinship, and both burial
and burning are in use among the peoples of India.
I might criticise Mr. Gomme's views as to the effect of migra-
tions on "the development of tribal society based upon polyandry
and kinship through females" (p. 131). I will do so, however,
only by pointing out that polyandry is not, as a rule, due to a
scarcity of women. This couid be established by many facts. The
cause of polyandry is well expressed by M. Beclus (op. cit.t
p. 204), when he says of the Dapla, who are allied to the Abors,
that " like their neighbours of Tibet, they admit all forms of
282 Anthropological Miscellanea.
marriage ; both polyandry, iisual among the poor, and polygyny
practised ordinarily by the rich." I would mention, also, that true
polyandry is associated with kinship through males, and not with
female kinship.
In conclusion, it appears to ine that Mr. Gomme has signally
failed in his attempt to establish the existence of Dr. McLennan's
primitive group or horde. His arguments tend rather to support
the view which he condemns, that the " family " formed the basis
of the earliest human groups, which consisted of a number of
individuals, or of family units, bound together by the ties of
kinship.
C. STANILAND WAKE.
Welton,
18th November, 1887.
SKETCH of ANIWA GRAMMAR.
By SIDNEY H. RAT.
ANIWA is a low coral island in the south of the New Hebrides
group. It lies 10 miles north-east of Tanna, and 50 miles north
of Aneiteum, in South latitude 19° 15', and East longitude 169° 40'.
The population is rapidly decreasing, and in 1874 was only 194.
Though the natives of Aniwa are in general appearance and
customs almost identical with the Melanesian tribes near them,
their language is akin to the dialects of Eastern Polynesia, and
more especially resembles the Tongan and Samoan. A closely
allied language is spoken on the island of Fotuna, about 30
miles to the east of Aniwa. Dr. Steel in his work on the New
Hebrides,1 states that " the natives of the two islands can under-
stand each other. Many of the natives of Aniwa are bilingual, as
the island is so near Tanna on the one side and Eromanga on the
other." A similar dialect is also found in the district of Mele, in
Fate or Sandwich Island, about 100 miles to the north.
This sketch is drawn up from translations of the Gospel of St.
John, and some of the Epistles,2 made by the Rev. J. G. Paton, of
the New South Wales Presbyterian Church, who has resided on
the island since 1866.
I. — Alphabet.
1. Vowels, a, e, i, o, u, sounded as in Italian.
2. Diphthongs, ou, ow, au, as in loud; ei, ai, y, as in my; oi, oy,
as in boy.
3. Consonants, Jc, c, g ; t, tsh, j ; p, f, v, w ; s ; r, I, m, n, mn.
The consonants are sounded as in English, with the exception of
of c and g, which have the same sound as in Aneiteum, and are
pronounced as g in go ; and ng in sing.
1 " The New Hebrides," by Robert Steel, D.D., London, 1880.
2 Ta fasao erefia ma tapu a hepe neisereace Mathius, Markus, loanes. I ta
fasao Aniwa, Neu Hebritis. ITakowia Melburni Vektoria, 1877-1882.
Anthropological Miscellanea. 283
4. The i of Eastern Polynesia is often represented by tsh,
especially before i. The I is little used, its place being taken
by r.
II. — Article.
1. The definite article is ta, in the plural a ; ta fare, the house ;
a fare, the houses; tafatu, the stone; a fatu, stones. Ta is some-
times shortened to tu, and a to u, and ta is disguised in the form
to before u ; tumtagi, the wind (Samoan matagi) ; umrama, months
(Samoan, malama) • towa, the rain ; (Samoan ua). Ta also appears
as te and £i ; teriki, the chief ; (Samoan ali'i) ; fo'o/2, the fire ;
(Samoan aft).
2. Many nouns commence with the syllable no, which appears
to be a kind of article. It is probably due to the influence of
neighbouring Melanesian dialects, where na is the common demon-
strative article. No is used with ta and a ; ta nontariki, the son ;
(Samoan atali'i) ; a nontariki, sons ; nontariga, the ear; anontariga,
ears (Samoan taliga).
3. The numeral tasi, one, is used as an indefinite article : tasi
agelo, an angel.
III. — Nouns.
1. In the Melanesian languages nouns may be divided into two
classes. The first class takes a suffixed possessive pronoun, and
the second expresses possession by the use of another word. Aniwa
differs from other Polynesian dialects in having a few words of the
first class. These denote relationship and parts of the body, and
also include the nonn tsha, a thing belonging; and the noun-pre-
position nia. Examples are : tamanome, our father ; aroto-wa, your
hearts ; tshaku, my thing ; niau, of me ; avaiore, their feet.
2. Number is indicated by the numerals or articles; ta nontariki,
the son ; ruanteriki, two sons ; anontariki, sons.
3. The nominative precedes, the accusative follows the verb ;
teriki nokomy, the chief is coming ; tamanoiua nibisa, your father
rejoiced ; akoi nikowna avou, thou sentest me ; acime keiro tamari,
we know the truth.
4. A few nouns have a prefix foi ; e.g , foimata, eyes ; foirakou,
tree. This is probably the Tongan/oi, as infoiufi, a yam ; foimanu,
a bird's egg, and signifies a mass or ball.
IV. — Pronouns.
1. Personal.
Singular. 1. avou [avau~\ ; 2. akoi [afcoe] ; 3. aia.
Duall. Inclusive acitawa [ketaua'}; exclusive acimawa [akimaua~] ;
2. akorua [korua] ; 3. aicrawa [kirua~\.
Trial 1. Inclusive [apekitatou~\ ; exclusive acimatou ; [kitatou] ;
2. acoutou \_aipe koutou] • 3. acratou \_aipe~].
Plural 1. Inclusive acitia \_akitea] ; exclusive acime [_akimea~\
2. acowa [alcoutou~\ ; 3. acre [altirea~\.
284 Anthropological Miscellanea.
The forms in brackets are those given in a short vocabulary by
the Rev. G. Turner.1
The same form is used both before and after the verb. After
the preposition ia, the word te is introduced, as in most Polynesian
dialects, and we thus have the forms : iatavou, to me ; iatakoi, to
thee ; iateia, to him ; iatakai ? to whom ?
In the plural, te does not appear. Taha ata neimna iatakoi ?
what he did to thee ? Avon nakatucua iacowa, I have told to you.
2. Possessive.
A suffixed possessive pronoun appears in use with the word tsha,
which is used as a possessive, also with the preposition nia, and
in the plural with a few other words.
Singular 1. -ku; 2. -u ; 3. na. Dual 1. Inclusive ; exclu-
sive -omawa ; 2. -orua; 3. -rawa.
Plural 1. Inclusive -owe; exclusive -oteia • 2. -owa; 3. -ore.
Examples : tshaku, my thing ; niau, of thee ; tshome, our thing ;
tamanoteia, our father ; arotowa, your hearts ; avaiore, their feet.
3. Interrogative.
The interrogative pronouns are Akai ? who ? and Taha ? what ?
Akoi akai ? thou (art) who ? Akai acowa fatshigeia ? whom ye
seek ? Taha aia neimna iatakoi ? what he did to thee? Taha akoi
kofakow'a ? what thou askest ?
4. Demonstrative and Indefinite.
Tenei, this; tera, that; anera, those things; taha, that; tasi,
one ; sece, another ; faru, some, certain ; tagatotshi, all men.
Tenei ta fasao komari, this the saying (is) true ; Taha nopogi
nokomy, that time is coming ; Ma anera acime vere, for those
(things) we work ; Tasi eipesia nohua, ma sece toria fakatavuria
nohua, one scatters seed, and another gathers and saves up the
fruit ; Faru neitucua, some said.
5. No reflexive or reciprocal pronouns appear.
Thou lovest thyself, is translated, akoi acitiafakarafia akoi, thou
lovest thee ; We love one another, is acitia acitiafakarafia tasi ma
sece o acitiotshi, we love one and another of us all. The adverb
ana. is sometimes suffixed to the pronoun. Ta nontariki aiana
setomatua vere, the son himself (lit. he only) is not able to work.
V . — Possessive .
]. The noun tsha, a thing belonging, is used as a possessive
pronoun. . With a suffixed pronoun it takes the following forms :
Singular 1. tshaku; 2. tshou • 3. tshana.
Dual 1. Inclusive ; exclusive tshamawa ; 2. tshorua ;
3. tsharawa.
Trial 1. Inclusive ; exclusive ; 2. ; 3. tsharatou.
Plural 1. Inclusive tshote; exclusive tshome; 2. tshowa; 3.
t share.
1 "Nineteen Tears in Polynesia," by Rev. G-. Turner, London, 1861. The
pronouns of Mele as given by the same authority are : — Singular 1. acau ; '2.
akoe • 3. ia. Dual 1. tana, maua ; 2. korua ; 3. raua. Plural 1. tatou,
matou ; 2. koutou ; 3. latou.
Anthropological Miscellanea. 285
Examples : Tshaku konouri, my flesh ; Tsliou fare, thy house ;
Tshana roto, his heart ; Tshamawa nuntama, of us two the son ;
Tshorua nuntama, of you two the son ; Tsharawa nokave, of them two
the brother ; Avai tsharatou, the legs of them three ; Tshote nele,
of you and me the friend ; Tshome norima, of him and me the
hands ; Tshowa kabisa, your joy ; tshare weina, their wine.
2. The noun-preposition nia, is used in a similar way. See IX, 3.
3. Tsha is found in use with nouns. Ta fare tsha Onesiforus, the
house the property of Onesiforus ; Avere tsha, notshino, works belong-
ing to the body.
VI. — Adjectives.
1. A few simple adjectives are found: sore, great; sisi, small;
fou, small (Samoan fou) ; fonu, full ; pouri, dai*k (Samoan pouli) ;
ma, pure (Samoan ma) ; sape, crippled (Samoan sape).
2. The prefixes of condition, ma and ta, seem to occur in the
words mero, withered (Samoan malo, hard) ; mtacu, afraid (Samoan
mata'u) ; ma/a, heavy; mukaligi, cold (Samoan ma'aligi) ; taru-
weak, slow ; tara, tame (Samoan tola, untied).
3. Reduplicated forms appear : totonu, straight ; onraoura, purple
(Samoan ulaula).
4. Adjectives follow their nouns, and are often used with the
verbal particles : noreo polo, a voice loud : avere sore, works great ;
tatane nimace, the man (that was) sick ; tagata komate, men (that
are) dead.
5. Comparison is made by the word Jcage following the adjective :
ane isa sore kage, a worse thing ; (lit. a thing bad great above) ;
Aid, sore Jcage avou, he is greater than I.
6. Demonstrative and indefinite adjectives are : nei, this ; ra,
that ; tasi, one ; jimra tasi, not one, no, none ; faru, some, iotshi,
all ; toru, few; nalupai, many.
VII.— Verbs.
1. Any word may be used as a verb, with or without a verbal
particle. Amori Itoma kdtenei, worship pure this ; avou tufwa, I
give ; aia kotufwa, he gives. The particles have no distinction of
person or number. A distinctly verbal character is given to a
word by the particle Tco (the Polynesian kua) which appears to
have no tense signification but is most frequently used in the
present.
2. Mood. A participle is formed by noko : avou nimy nokobaptiso
i tavai; I came baptizing with water; avou neicitia ta nokano noko-
fanifo ia ta ragi, I saw the spirit descending from Heaven ; ta mana
nokomouri, the father living.
The infinitive is expressed by kei : tomatua keifakairo, able to
teach ; avou nakamo ane nalupai keitucua, I had things many to
say. Imperatives. The simple verb with or without ko shows the
imperative : sara ma kowcitia, search and look. " Must " and
" ought " are denoted by erefa, good, at the beginning of the
VOL. XVII. U
286 Anthropological Miscellanea.
sentence : erefia aia komate, lie ought 'to die, (lit. good he dies) ;
erefia acowa kofarere foce, ye must be bom again (lit. good ye are
born again.) Prohibition is expressed by the verb natshicina, leave,
and desire by acitiafakarafia, to desire, love ; natshicina aia, leave
her ; natshicina miaou, leave fearing, do not fear ; acime acitia-
fakarafia kowcitia aia, we desire (to) see him.
The subjunctive or conditional is introduced by the conjunction
pe, if or that. The particle muka seems also to mark the con-
ditional. Atua nikowna tshana nontariki pe acitia mukoamo anea
mouri, God sent his son that we might have life; pe acitia mukeiro,
that we may know ; pe acre mukafeke, that they may depart.
" Would " and " should " are expressed by nukow : Akoi nukownogia
aia, thou wouldst ask him ; aia nukowtufwa, he would give.
Power to do ar. action is shown by the word tomatua, power,
able : inability by taru, weak, unable. Akai tomatua fakarogona ra ?
Who (has) power to hear that ? aia tomatua keipurutshia anera, he
is able to keep thing that ; acre kotaru torotshia my kowpega, they
are not able to draw hither the net ; aia kotaru vere hepra, he is
unable to work like that.
3. Tense. The particles denoting tense are : ei, present (?) ; nei
or ni, past; naka, perfect; ka, future. Akuli eiro, dogs know; tasi
eipesia, one scatters ; aia neitufwa, he gave ; aia neitucua, he said ;
aia nimy, he came ; aia nifeke, he departed ; avou nakacitia, I have
seen ; avou nakafakoko, I have fought ; acowa kasara avou, ye shall
seek me ; avou katufwa, I shall give.
It is doubtful whether ei is a present particle, most verbs have ko
only : avou koutucua, I say ; aia komy, he comes. The immediate
future is sometimes expressed by noko : Wamuri avou tasi nokomy,
after me one is coming.
4. The causative prefix faka is seen in fakairo, to make know,
teach ; fakatonusia, to make straight, stretch ; fakariake, make
plain, shew ; and many others. A shorter form fa is also found :
fakeina, make eat, feed.
5. The terminations a, fia, da, ia, na, gia, ria, sia, tia, tshia are
found suffixed to verbs. In Samoan and Tongan these denote the
passive voice, but it is doubtful whether they have the same use in
Aniwa. " One bone of him was not broken " is translated tasi
newi tshana setoutshia ; but examples like akoi nitaka, thou girdedst
thyself, and tasi foce katakaia akoi, another shall gird thee, seem to
show that the terminations are sometimes equivalent to the Mela-
nesian transitive suffixes.
6. The interrogative is indicated by -mo, or, at the end of the
sentence. Akoi tasi teriki mo ? Art thou a chief ?
7. The negative is se, used with all the particles : Avou sekoma,
1 am not ashamed ; senokoamo ane isa, not having a thing bad ;
acowa sekacitia avou, ye shall not see me.
8. The verb " to be " is expressed by the particles. Tenei ko
acitiafakarafia, this is love.
9. The verb my, mai, come, has a plural romy. Aia komy, he
comes ; acre niromy, they came.
Anthropological Miscellanea. 287
VLSI.— Adverbs.
1. Directive. Kace, up; ifo, down; mai, my, hither; fano, ace,
aJce, thither ; efuafo, forth.
2. Interrogative. Mo, at end of a sentence in asking a question :
konapecua ? how ? wehe ? where ? whither ? whence ? tiaha ? why ?
enaia ? when ?
3. Time. Milow, miloiua, now, immediately ; ituai of old, long
ago ; face, again ; nopogi ma nopogi, days and days, always ; tou ma
tou, years and years, for ever ; nopogi toru, a few days ; mokagi,
before ; fakaliJci, together ; fakosore, many times ; fakasisi, a little
time ; iranei, to-day ; iratou, to-morrow.
4. Place. Tai, here ; icunei, here ; watai,- on the shore; wamuri,
behind ; watafa, outside.
5. Manner. An a, only, entirely. Ad jectives are used as adverbs
of manner. Avon nibisa sore, I rejoiced greatly ; akoi itnna erefia,
thou doest well.
IX. — Prepositions.
1. Simple. 0, a, of ; e, i, in, at ; i, ia, to; la, through.
2. Many prepositions are compounded of a noun and a simple
preposition. Iluga, above, on the top ; iraro, iroro, at the bottom,
under, below ; iroto, in the heart, inside ; itata, at the side, near ;
emoa, in the front, before.
3. The preposition nia, of, belonging to, is a noun and takes the
suffixed pronouns.
Singular. 1. Niaku ; 2. niau ; 3. niana •
Dual." 1. Inclusive ; exclusive ; 2. ; 3. niarowa.
Plural. 1. Inclusive : exclusive ; 2. ; 3. niare.
X. — Conjunctions.
Ma, and, for ; mo, or ; Jcaia, but, how ; pe, if, that ; hepe, so, like,
as, while ; ianei, for the thing this, because ; ianera, for the thing
that, therefore ; ana, also.
XI. — Numerals.
1. Cardinal. Tasi, one ; rua, two ; toru, three ; fa, four ; rima,
five ; onot six ; fitu, seven ; varu, eight ; ivas nine, tagafulu, ten.
A set of numerals adopted from the English is in use in trans-
lations. Wun, tu, thri, for, faiv, seks, seven, et, nain, ten, twelv,
huntret, thousant. The verbal particle e is used with the numerals.
2. The causative faka forms the ordinals, fakarua, second;
fakatoi-u, third ; once is tasi.
3. Distributives are expressed with a conjunction : Tasi ma tasi,
one by one.
4. Multiplicatives are formed with tshici; tshicifitu, seven times;
tsltici efia ? how many times ?
U 2
88 Anthropological Miscdlant
XII. — Exclamations.
Keini ! Iceine ! yea ! Jimra ! nay ! Kawe !
XIII. Specimens.
288 Anthropological Miscellanea.
woe !
Specimens.
Of the following No. 1 is the Fotuna Paternoster, as given in
Dr. Steel's " New Hebrides," and No. 2 is the same in Aniwa.
They are given, as showing the great similarity of the two
dialects.
1. Fotuna Paternoster.
Tamanomy iragi. Kitapu tiau igoa. Kimai tiau avaka tagata.
Kipenei tiau finagaro i takere nei feipei iragi Tufa mai akai tan
rune y kimy iranei. Tauki iomy kauligine sa feipe akimy natauaki
kaulagine sa o faruki y kimy. Koina arafy kimy ki kauligine
eresy. Kapena mauri kimy i tasa. Niau tavaka tagata ma
tatamotau ma teatata y napugi ma napugi. Emen.
2. Aniwa Paternoster.
Tamanome tiragi. Tshou neigo tapu. Tshou tavaka komy.
Tshou afasas erefia acre ia fanua wararonei fakarogona hepe i tiragi.
Tufwa acime iranei tshome akai. Towaki nori maganisa tshome ;
hepe acime towaki nori o maganisa o tagata acime. Natshicina
acime ia teretu o maganisa, kaia kapare acime ia ane isa iotshi. Ma
tshou tavaka, ma tomatua, ma nokabisa, atou ma tou. Emen.
3. Aniwa. John XXI, 9-19. From the Rev. J. G. Paton's
translation.
9. Milowa acre niromy ia fanua, acre neicitia tiafi o tafia marara
iai, ma eika neinage iluga aia, ma bret.
10. lesu neitucua iacre, Amy faru foce o eika acowa milow
niamo.
11. Saimona Pitms nifano iateia, ma nitorotsh iamy takowpega
ia fanua, nifonu o eika sore, wun huntret, ma fef te-thri ; ma acre
nalupai su ma sefasia takowpega.
12. lesu neitucua iacre, koromy ma kakeina aia touate. Ma
jimra tasi o niana tagata aia nifakairo tomatua nifakowia aia.
Akai akoi ? acre neiro aia ta Teriki sore.
13. lesu nimy, ma niamo bret, ma neitufwa iacre, ma eika foce.
14. Tenei fakatoru lesu nifakariake aia ia niana tagata aia
nifakairo, wamuri aia nimasike ia tagata nimate.
15. Wamuri acre nikeinace, Jesu neitucua ia Saimona Pitrus,
Saimona, nontariki o lona, akoi acitiafakarafia avou sore kage acre
ra, mo ? Aia neitucua iateia, Keine Teriki sore ; akoi keiro avon
acitiafakarafia akoi, Aia neitucua iateia, Fakeina tshaku alam.
16. Aia neitucua foce fakarua, Saimona, nontariki o lona, akoi
acitiafakarafia avou, mo ? Aia neitucua iateia, Keini Terike sore ;
akoi keiro pe avou acitiafakarafia akoi. Aia neitucua iateia,
Fakeina tshaku asip.
17. Aia neitucua iateia fakatoru, Saimona, nontariki o lona.
Akoi acitiafakarafia avou, mo ? Aroto o Pitrus nimy sore wamuri
Anthropological Miscellanea. 289
aia neitacua fakatoru iateia, Akoi acitiafakarafia avou ? Ma aia
neitucua iateia, Teriki sore, akoi keiro ane iotshi ; akoi keiro pe
avou acitia fakarafia akoi. lesu neitucua iateia, Fakeina ishaku asip.
18. Tamari, tamari, avou koutucua iatakoi, Nopogi ra akoi
tasisi, akoi nitaka ma nitakaro ia none akoi acitiafakarafia, kai
taha nopogi akoi tatane sore, akoi kafakatonusia tshou norima, ma
tasi foce katakaia akoi, ma takoia akoi i none akoi secitiafakarafia.
19. Tenei aia neitucua, keifakairo ta mate aia maganerefia ia
Atua iateia. Wamuri aia nifasao ra iateia, aia neitucua iateia,
Komy wamuri avou.
RACIAL PHOTOGRAPHS FROM THE EGYPTIAN MONUMENTS. — A series
of 190 photographs of the various races conquered or visited by
the Egyptians, was taken from the monuments by Mr. Flinders
Petrie in 1887, with the assistance of a grant from the British
Association. It is now available for students at the cost price of
printing copies. Applications should be made for prints to Mr.
Browning Hogg, 75, High-street, Bromley, Kent. If a selection
is wanted, a set will be sent, any of which can be detached from the
titled sheets by the purchaser, at 2*. 3d. per dozen ; those not
required should be at once returned in the sheets to Mr. Hogg with
the remittance for those kept. If a whole set is wanted, it will be
sent pasted on sheets of parchment paper, with printed titles, on
receipt of 45s., postage included. With each whole set, a copy of
Mr. Petrie's report, and Mr. Tomkins' paper on the geographical
identifications, will be sent if requested, so far as the number of
copies allowed by the British Association will permit.
The photographs are mainly from plaster casts, and are therefore
far clearer than if directly from the stone. Each has the ancient
name from the hieroglyphs, and the modern equivalent, so far as
the names can be identified. The situation of each sculpture is
stated in the report. All are of the XlXth dynasty, and at Thebes,
unless otherwise stated in the titles. Where an interrogation is
put, either the ancient name is not expressly stated, but is inferred
from similar sculptures, or else the modern name is not a certain
identification. Where there are various theories on the identifica-
tions, the least unlikely has been adopted without any wish to
assert its probable truth. The order of arrangement is such as to
bring together the various peoples who have resemblances worthy
of notice, such as the Punites and Philistines (Poeni) ; the
Tahennu, Hanebu, and Thnirsha ; the Derdeni and Amorites, &c.,
subject of course to placing those of one name together.
THE RACES OF INDIA. — The following is an extract from a letter
by Sir George Campbell, K. C.S.I., D.C.L., which appeared in the
" Times" of January 24th, 1888 :—
" It is certainly the case that Bengalees have not served in the
army and have the credit of being un warlike. On the other hand
they have shown a decided receptivity not only for English educa-
tion but for European social ideas ; they are often physically
290 Anthropological Miscellanea.
robust, and when I introduced gymnastic training in the schools
they really exhibited great forwardness and aptness. Per contra,
it must be said that they show great backwardness in filling our
schools of engineering, and that they seem wanting in mercantile
energy. I see the chairman of the East India Railway, referring
to his rivals on the other side of India, complains that the people
of Bombay are ten times as eneigetic as those of Calcutta. In
manufactures and trade the Bombay natives certainly are very
much in advance, but I suspect this in a great degree due to the
presence of certain very energetic mercantile classes — Parsees and
Marwarees — rather than to a very general superiority of the
people of the Bombay Presidency.
At any rate, I must say that Sir Lepel Griffin's address to the
people of Gwalior, conti*asting unfavourably the Bengalees with
" you Mahrattas," was curiously out of place. I have administered
a Mahratta country in the Central Proyinces, and taken a great deal
of trouble to find out what is a Mahratfca. Using " Mahratta " in
the wide sense in which we use " Bengalee," as applied to the whole
Mahratta-speaking race of Maharastetra, the Mahrattas are by no
means a very warlike race, but rather the contrary — a quiet
agricultural people, not very fine or robust. It is notorious that
many Bombay officers used to try to fill their regiments with
Hindostanees because they did not think the Mahrattas a sufficiently
fine raw material. The people connected with the Royal family
of Nagpore (which was, I think, connected with that of Sivajee),
used to insist that the term " Mahratta " could only be properly
applied to the original small tribe from the Sattara country to
which Sivajee belonged. In that sense they now hardly exist.
The Mahrattas whom we encountered were a miscellaneous mer-
cenary horde comprising not only all sorts of Hindoos but very
many Mahomedans from all parts of India. It is well known that
neither Scindiah, Holkar, nor the Guicowa are Mahrattas in any
limited sense, but represent low-caste adventurers in the Mahratta
armies. Scindiah conquered the Gwalior territories, but there is
not one indigenous Mahratta in all that country — it is a Hindos-
tauee country throughout. A certain number of Mahrattas (using
the term in the widest sense) followed the original Scindiah, but
the great object of the late ruler was to get rid of all those having
hereditary claims upon him, and the only Mahrattas who could
have been among Sir L. Griffin's audience must have been a few
effete pensioners. The Mahrattas who for administrative purposes
would come into competition with the Bengalee Baboos are the
Mahratta Bramins — a singularly acute, pushing, and distinguished
race, on the whole I rather think superior to the Bengalees. But
these people have accepted English education, English ideas, and
what I may call " political bumptiousness," quite as much as the
Bengalees — they have not the least reason to fear that they will
be overriden by Bengalees.
THE JOUKNAL
ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE
OF
GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
DECEMBER 13TH, 1887.
FRANCIS GALTON, Esq., F.R.S., President, in the Chair.
The Minutes of the last meeting were read and signed.
The following presents received since the last meeting were
announced, and thanks voted to the respective donors : —
FOR THE LIBRARY.
From the AUTHOR. — Etudes ethnographiques et archeologiques sur
1'Bxposition Colonials et Indienne de Londres. Par le Dr. E.
T. Hamy.
- Una gita fra i Calabro-Albanesi. Di Giulio Barroil.
From the PUBLISHERS. — Ratones y Orugas : origen y extincidn de las
especies. Por Enrique Heriz.
From Dr. GUGLIELMO KITCHMAN. — :L'Afceneo : — periodico letterario,
scientifico, scolastico, mensuale organo dell'Istituto Galileo-
Galilei. Anno xii, Fas. 1 e 2.
From the ACADEMY. — Actas de la Academia Nacional de Ciencias
de la Republica Argentina en Cordoba. Tom. v, Ent. 3.
From the ESSEX FIELD CLUB. — The Essex Naturalist. 1887.
No. 11.
VOL. XVII. X
292 E. TREGEAR. — The Maori and the Moa.
From the INSTITUTION. — Journal of the Royal United Service
Institution. No. 141.
A Brief History of the Royal United Service Institution. By
Capt. Boughey Burgess.
Prom Prof. ALEXANDER AGASSIZ. — Annual Report of the Curator of
the Museum of Comparative Zoology at Harvard College, for
1886-87.
From the UNIVERSITY. — The Journal of the College of Science,
Imperial University, Japan. Vol. i. Part 4.
From the ROYAL SCOTTISH GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY. — The Scottish
Geographical Magazine. Vol. iii. No. 19.
From the SOCIETY. — Journal of the Society of Arts. Nos. 1827-
1829.
— — Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society. 1887.
December.
Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology. Vol. x.
No. 1.
Journal of the Asiatic Society of Japan. Nos. 275-277.
- Proceedings of the Asiatic Society of Japan. 1887. Nos.
6, 7, 8. '
Mittheilungen des Vereins fur Erdkunde zu Leipzig. 1880.
Heft. 1-3.
From the EDITOR. — Nature. Nos. 943-945.
Science. Nos. 250, 251.
— Revue d'Ethnographie. 1887. No. 3.
L'Homme. 1887. No. 21.
— Bulletino di Paletnologia Italiana. 1887. N. 9 e 10.
Photographic Times. Nos. 322, 323.
The following paper was read by the Secretary : —
The MAORI and the MOA.
By EDWARD TREGEAR, F.RG.S.
THERE has been considerable discussion among scientific men
for some years on the question as to the knowledge possessed
by the Maori in regard to the gigantic extinct bird of New
Zealand, called the Moa (Dinornis). There is a general tra-
dition current in the South Seas that the fair Polynesians (or
Maori) were immigrants, arriving at the different groups of
islands in canoes ; the New Zealand Maoris having particularly
clear remembrances of this event, so far as the statements in
ancient legend and tradition can be relied on. If we accept
these legends (confirmed by other evidence) as having a basis of
fact, two interesting branches of enquiry present themselves.
E. TKEGEAR. — The Maori and the Moa. 293
One is ethnological ; if the Moa became extinct many centuries
ago, yet was seen by the Maoris, some clue may be gained as to
the time this race of men has been in New Zealand. The
other is of interest to students of natural history ; if the time
of the arrival of the Maoris could be fixed, and it could be
proved that they had seen the living bird, we might then be
able to ascertain how long ago it is since this unique creature
was exterminated.
Those who take interest in the subject, range themselves in
two parties ; one affirming that the Maori not only knew of, but
hunted and ate the Moa ; the other side asserting that the
present inhabitants of the island are the descendants of men
who were perfectly ignorant of the habits, use, or even existence
of a huge struthious bird. I will endeavour to state in the
most concise and impartial manner, what evidence, direct and
indirect, has been brought forward to substantiate these
opinions.
The direct evidence is that of geology. The bones of the
Moa were first found in river beds and fluviatile deposits.
These boaes may have occurred in strata either ancient or recent,
but the identical formation has not yet been decided. Mr.
Colenso, Mr. Mantell, Mr. Taylor, and others are agreed in
pronouncing that the bones have also been found in vast
(quantities near the surface of the ground, sometimes a whole
plain being dotted with the small mounds formed by the bones.
In the Southern Island Moa skeletons have been discovered
without any superincumbent material whatever ; although in a
tew years after the arrival of the Europeans the bone deposits
had disappeared, having been destroyed by the numerous fern
fires, &c. But the remains of the Moa have been excavated by the
late Sir Julius Von Haast, Dr. Hector, and other geologists from
native ovens buried many feet deep in soil accumulated over
them apparently in the course of centuries. These bones so
found have traces of gnawing and the marks of fire, and are
mixed with the remains of dogs and other animals cooked at
the same time. This would seem to denote that geologically
the evidence preponderates greatly in favour of the opinion
that the Maoris had seen and eaten the Moa, especially as stone
weapons similar to those formerly used by the Polynesians are
found near the Moa bones. It would seem improbable that
such unresting wanderers as the Maoris, men who explored and
named the most inaccessible parts of the North Island, who
had thinly peopled the South Island, and who certainly visited
it to get the greenstone (jade) for their ornaments and weapons,
should have omitted to notice this huge bird, of great im-
portance to a people with whom meat was a luxury, and con-
"x 2
294 E. TREGEAR. — The Maori and the Moa.
sidering that the Moa skeletons were on the surface of the
ground in our own day. The party who take the negative side
of the question answer, that although it is almost certain that
the Moa has been hunted and eaten by man, there is nothing to
show that the hunters were of the fair Polynesian race. Tra-
dition speaks of a people exterminated or driven into the
interior of the country by the Maori ; it is commonly supposed
to have been a Papuan or Melanesian tribe of men, probably
using stone weapons similar to those of the Polynesians. Even
in these weapons there is somewhat of difference, for in some
of the old deposits (notably in the kitchen-middens, containing
Moa bones, at the mouth of the Otakai Creek, Otago), are found
rude chipped fragments of tools, axes, &c., left unfinished, these
having been struck from flint, chert, quartz, &c., remnants left
by a people using palaeolithic weapons ruder than the polished
stone weapons, &c., of the Maori.1
The indirect evidence is that which is given by the traditions,
songs, proverbs, &c., of the Maori people, and by the etymology
of words, whether used simply or as compounds, names of
places, or of persons. Mr. Colenso, F.R.S., in his articles on the
Moa (Vol. xii, " Transactions New Zealand Institute," 1879,) has
collected almost all the facts to be ascertained in New Zealand
in this indirect manner. Those who can find interest in the
subject will do well to turn to the book (to be found in most
large English libraries), and read the full result of Mr. Colenso's
researches set forth in his own scholarly words. As a brief
summary of his work, I offer the following precis. The affir-
mative : — There were well known (although vague) notions cur-
rent among the older Maoris concerning the former existence
of a gigantic bird. Although some of these accounts were mere
marvels, some stating that the creature had the face of a man,
that it " lived on air," that the last living specimen dwelt on a
mountain peak guarded by two great lizards (Tuatara), yet they
identified the bones shown to them as being true Moa bones.
Keferences to the Moa in legend, song, and proverb, (though
rare) may be found (I will refer to these in detail further on),
and the Maoris vouched for the possession of a Moa feather
used for decorating the hair of dead chiefs at their obsequies,
and regarded as a precious relic. The negative : — Although
every bird, animal, &c., to be found in New Zealand is men-
tioned in the old legends again and again, its quality as food
spoken of, its habits described, its uses for ornamentation, &c.,
1 It is recorded in legend that when the " Rangi-ua-mutu " (one of the canoes
which brought the ancestors of the Maoris to New Zealand), arrived at Rariga-
tupu, the immigrants noticed the flint-flakes (knives) and Moa bones there ;
apparently as if unaccustomed to them.
E. TKEGEAK. — The Maori and the Moa. 295
dilated on, only a very few scant allusions can be found as to
the great edible bird. So also in regard to the hunting scenes,
the combat of demi-god and monster, while many legends
narrate conflicts with great lizards, water-creatures, &c., there
are no stories concerning the chase or capture of the huge
leathered biped. While the tale-teller often speaks of the
numerous pets and tame animals the Maoris delighted to have
near them (some monstrous pets, such as the whale of Tinirau
sind the saurian of Tangaroaniihi), the Moa is never spoken of
as being the playmate or property of any hero or deity.1 The
so-called Moa feather as described by the Maoris (and not
forthcoming) is represented as being ocellated and of beautiful
colours, like a peacock's feather, while the feathers, which are
almost certainly Moa's feathers, found by the Europeans with
the Moa's eggs, are hairy feathers of a dull grey colour resem-
bling somewhat those of the emu. The feather, according to the
Maoris' own statement, had been found by them either blown
on the wind, or else (by another account) stuck fast in a white-
pine tree ; there is therefore no ground except mere guessing to
associate this feather and the Moa. The Maoris who had
beautiful cloaks of albatross and kiwi (Apteryx) feathers, heir-
looms of many generations, had no cloaks of Moa feathers.
They had many weapons of various materials, clubs made of
stone, hard wood, the ribs of the whale, &c., but none from the
huge leg bones of the Moa.
Thus far tradition and possessions : the evidence of names is as
follows : — The word Moa, besides indicating (a) the bird, means
(6) a drill for boring hard stone ; (c) a raised plot or bed in a
cultivation; (d) a coarse-growing or a sea-side grass; (e) a
certain kind of stone or layer of stone. In composition the
word occurs sometimes in names of places ; Te kakio temoa=ihe
neck of the Moa ; Moawhiti = startled Moa, &c. As names of
things, such as raumoa = Moa's feather, a kind of grass ;
taramoa = the bramble : maimoa = a decoy bird.
The old chiefs with whom Mr. Colenso conferred, state that
the only information they possess is " anciently the land was
burnt up by the fire of Tarnatea; then it was that the big
living things together with the Moas were all burnt." This
Tamatea was a very ancient mythical hero, the fifth lineal
descendant from Eangi, the sky. Other old chiefs write thus :
" No man of old ever saw the Moa ; the last of men, perhaps,
who ever saw the Moa was in the time of Noah ; because it was
at the time of the overturning in the days of Mataoho2 that
1 See, however, Sir Walter Buller's note, p. 304.
2 The time of the .New Zealaad J)fluge.
296 E. TREGEAR. — The Maori and the Moa.
the race of Moas died whose bones are now seen Those
men of olden time, as I have said, never saw the Moa — that is,
its body, its size, its length, its height, its feathers, never once.
No man ever heard of the taste of its flesh, and of its appear-
ance ; or of its fat, or its skin, or its being sweet or bitter to
the taste. For if, indeed, those men of old had known any-
thing of the Moa they would have left that knowledge to be
talked of and handed down to the men of after times. But
inasmuch as those men of the olden time did not know, there-
fore it is most certain that these men who came after them did
not know also."
In 1868, Mr. Colenso (" Transactions New Zealand Institute,"
Vol. i), stated that he did not believe that any Maori had ever
seen a Moa, but after having gathered and compared more
evidence, he gives the result as in the paper of 1879, from
which I have been quoting, and then utters his judgment that
the Moa was known to the Maori, but very far back in pre-historic
times. As to the immense value of the facts as arranged by
Mr. Colenso there can be no question, but upon the evidence
thus placed before us, the reader will probably form his own
judgment. My own opinion leans greatly to the negative ; I
cannot understand the omission of mention of the great bird
in myths, hero combats, hunting scenes, lists of food at feasts,
charms and incantations, descriptions of dress, ornaments (as
plumes), weapons, pet animals, &c. This weighty silence
coupled with the distinct denial of the chiefs that they or their
fathers ever saw the Moa since the deluge, overweighs the
doubtful evidence to be drawn from use of the word in com-
pounds or the few references to some creature called " Moa " in
the traditions or proverbs. But I must add in fairness that any
judicial opinion offered by Mr. Colenso regarding New Zealand
and its inhabitants is entitled to more respectful consideration
than those of a hundred ordinary students of the question.
This then is, so far as I can learn, the position of the argu-
ment when last discussed, and to which I cannot see much
probability of anything being added in New Zealand by fresh
evidence in geology, tradition, or etymology. I believe, how-
ever, that we can get additional help in considering the question
by studying the sister dialects of the Maori language; and I
will take three of the most important as my field of study ; the
Samoan (Navigator Islands), the Hawaiian (Sandwich Islands),
the Tahitian (Society Islands). In these three dialects, as in
almost all those spoken throughout Polynesia, Moa is the name of
the domestic fowl, the cock and hen of our farmyards. These
birds were in the possession of the inhabitants of many of the
South Sea Islands when first discovered by Europeans, but were
E. TREGEAR. — The Maori and the Moa. 297
unknown in New Zealand. In Hawaiian, Moa means, besides
the common fowl, (a) the name of a stick used in play ; (6) the
name of a plant, the leaves of which, made into a tea, are
cathartic ; (c) the name of a piece of wood made to slide down
hill on; (d) the name of a moss-like plant growing in the
forests ; (e) a kind of banana or plantain. Also Moa means
" cooked," but this is a word which compares with the Maori
maoa, " cooked," and the vowel value is doubtful. If we con-
sider the compounds in Hawaiian they almost all refer to the
bird.
Moaoua, a young cock before his spurs are grown ; moakakala,
a cock with sharp spurs (kakala = the Maori tatara, from tara,
a spear-point, spine, thorn) ; moakinana, a hen that has laid
eggs ; moamahi, a cock that conquers, a conqueror ; moamoa, to
be or act the cock among fowls ; hoo-moamoa (causative), to
go in company with, as a cock goes with hens to give warning
in case of danger, to be intimate with; moamoa, the sharp
point at the stern of a canoe. These words all refer to the
domestic fowl except the last, which is almost certainly a refer-
ence to the spur of a cock. Turning to Samoan, we find that
Moa means (a) the domestic fowl ; (b) the end of a bunch of
bananas ; (c) the fleshy part of the alili (a mollusc) ; (d) a child's
top ; (e) the epigastric region ; (/) the middle, as of a road or
river.
The compounds are moa'aivao, a wild fowl, and fa'amoataulia,
to provoke a quarrel of two, as of two cocks. In Tahitian Moa
means (a) the domestic fowl ; (b) the name of a species of fern ;
(c) a whirligig made of the amare seed ; (d) a bunch of miro
leaves used in the marae (place of assembly). These share
with the simple meanings of the Maori, Hawaiian, and Samoan
words in giving no help to any description of the bird, or the
reason for its being so called.
The compounds in Tahitian are moafaatito, a fighting cock ;
moahururau, a fowl of many qualities (fig., an unsteady or
fickle person) ; moaopapa, a fowl without a tail ; moafiri, a wild
fowl ; moapateatoto, a courageous cock, a bold warrior ; moapa-
ruhi, a cowardly cock, a cowardly warrior ; moataratua, a cock
with a long spur, a bold warrior ; moaraupia, a peculiarly
coloured fowl ; moataavae, a fowl tied by the leg ; moatautina,
a fowl that beats all his opponents ; moavari, a cock ; tataramoa,
a prickly shrub.
I think that it is drawing no unfair inference from the con-
sideration of these words if we allow that the creature described
in these compound words is distinctly the domestic fowl, the
fighting cock, the widely-spread emblem of courage. Cock-
fighting, a popular pastime among many ancient peoples, was
298 E. TKEGEAR. — The Maori and the Moa.
a favourite sport of the Polynesians. This accounts for so
many words alluding to the cock being compounds of Moa, and
for the compounds of Moa not apparently alluding to anything
else but the habits, &c., of the cock. If this be the case, it is
highly probable that since in Hawaiian, Tahitian, and Samoan
the compounds of Moa refer to the domestic fowl, they also thus
refer in New Zealand with the Maori compounds of Moa, always
reserving that there is nothing in the Maori word proving that
it is inapplicable to the Gallinacece ; and if in the traditional
allusions, proverbial sayings, &c., no evidence can be found
which shows that the word was used to denote a huge struthious
bird. To pursue the investigation thoroughly, I must refer
(this time in detail) to the allusions in myth and proverb. The
only ancient legend in which the Moa is mentioned is that (loc.
cit.\ in the story of Ngahue. Mr. Colenso quoted the two or three
lines in which the reference appears, but I consider that the
quality of the evidence depends much upon the bona fides of
the narrator, and as to the tale itself bearing the stamp of
romance or of reality. So as the myth is very short, I will
quote in full as it appears in Sir George Grey's " Polynesian
Mythology " : —
" The Legend of Poutini and Whaiapu.
"Now pay . attention to the cause of the contention which
arose between Poutini and Whaiapu, which led them to emigrate
to New Zealand. For a long time they both rested in the same
place, and Hiue-tu-a-hoanga, to whom the stone Whaiapu1 be-
longed, became excessively enraged with Ngahue and with his
stone Poutini.2 At last she drove Ngahue out, and forced him
to leave the place, and Ngahue departed and went to a strange
land, taking his jade stone. When Hine-tu-a-hoanga saw that
he was departing with his precious stone, she followed after
them, and Ngahue arrived at Tuhua with his stone, and Hine-
tu-a-hoanga arrived and landed there at the same time with
him, and began to drive him away again. Then Ngahue went
to seek a place where his jade stones might remain in peace,
and he found in the sea this island Aotearoa (the northern
island of New Zealand), and he thought he would land there.
" Then he thought again, lest he and his enemy should be too
close together, and should quarrel again, that it would be better
for him to go further off with his jade stone, a very long way
off. So he carried it off with him, and they coasted along, and
at length arrived at Arahura (on the west coast of the middle
1 Or green stone, or jade.
2 Obsidian, with which the natives grind down the jade.
E. TEEGEAR. — TJie Maori and the Moa. 299
island), and he made that an everlasting resting place for his
jade stone. Then he broke off a portion of his jade stone, and
took it with him and returned ; and as he coasted along he at
length reached Wairere (believed to be on the east coast of
the northern island), and slew the Moa there1 ; and he visited
Whangaparoa and Tauranga, and from thence he returned
direct to Hawaiki, and reported that he had discovered a new
country which produced the Moa and jade stone in abundance.
He now manufactured sharp axes from his jade stone; two
axes were made from it, Tutauru and Hau-hau-te-rangi. He
manufactured some portions of one piece of it into images for
neck ornaments, and some portions into ear ornaments ; the
name of one of these ear ornaments was Kaukau-matua (which
was recently in the possession of Te Heuheu, and was only lof?t
in 1846 when he was killed with so many of his tribe by a
landslip. The axe Tutauru was only lately lost by Purahokura
and his brother Reretai, who were descended from Tama-ihu-
roa). When Ngahue,, returning, arrived again in Hawaiki, he
found them all engaged in war, and when they heard his
description of the beauty of this country of Aotea, some of
them determined to come here."
If there is any groundwork of truth in this story, it will be
with difficulty sifted out from myth. It may be a mystical
way of relating that a race using weapons of jade were driven
out by another people using arms of obsidian (or edged with
obsidian). The place where Ngahue is said to have landed
with his greenstone (the west coast of the middle island), where
he made " an everlasting resting place " for it, is the natural
home of the jade; the place whence the Maoris procured all
the material necessary for their weapons and ornaments. Hine-
tu-a-hoanga, who expelled him from his country, we luckily
know something about from another legend, not in the " Poly-
nesian Mythology." The name means " Young-lady-standing-
as-a-whetstone." She was a grand-daughter of the sister of
Maui, the great demi-god of Polynesia, and, like Maui, was a
magician of high rank. Her brother Eata felled a large tree for
a canoe, but omitted to pay the proper respect to the Lord of
Forests by offering up prayers and incantations before com-
mencing work. In the night the "multitude of the wood-
elves," assembled, and stood the tree upright again. The same
thing happened the next day, and the next, till Hine-tu-a-
hoanga said to her brother, " You must first rub your axe on
my sacred body, as on a whetstone, then you will succeed." He
did so, and completed his work.
1 The words in italics are not in the English translation, but are in the
original Maori, " Ka tae a Ngahue ki te Wairere, ka patua te Moa."
300 E. TREGEAR. — The Maori and the Moa.
On such ground, and with such personages as these, we are in
fairy-land. I cannot believe that any reliance can be placed
on one or two words to be found in such a tale. Moreover, the
Moa spoken of may be anything ; there is no description or
hint whatever. From the hundreds, nay thousands, of proverbs
used by the Maoris the following have been arranged as con-
taining the only references to the Moa which can be found : —
(1.) " The firewood with which the Moa was baked was the
koromiko" (Veronica).
(2.) " Mihiau was the name of the stone with which the Moa
was cooked."
(3.) " All have been destroyed as completely as the Moa."
(4.) "All have disappeared or perished just as the Moas
perished."
(5.) " The Eata was trampled down when young by the
Moa."
(6.) " Even as the Moa, feeding upon air."
(7.) " Art thou indeed a Moa that thou dost not eat ? "
(8.) " A Moa living upon air."
(9.) " A Moa's stomach, or appetite."
Taking these in sequence, No. 1 tells us nothing of the nature
of the food cooked. Nor does No. 2 ; the meaning of the word
mihiau is lost, but it is supposed to have been a kind of
obsidian. No. 3 may allude to any extinct bird, as may No. 4.
No. 5 is based on the idea that the irregular appearance of a
huge tree may be caused by trampling on it when it is a small
plant: a proverb against evil habits in the young. Nos.
6, 7, 8, 9, are all references to the traditional habit of the Moa
standing on a hill-peak " eating the wind," and were used to
those who had no appetite for food, "living on air," applied
to love-sick persons, &c. There is, however, a doubt as to the
original meaning of the word here rendered air or wind ; as it
is also the name of an ancient charm chanted by sorcerers in
order to make a person pine away and die. In none of these
proverbs is there any allusion to the nature of the bird, to its
gigantic size, or to any peculiar habit, unless it be its " feeding
on the wind," which we can hardly refer by analogy to any
existing creature, and which is probably either a mistranslation
sanctified by long usage, or a pure invention of romance.
The poetical evidence is as follows. In an ancient poem
called " The Lament of Turaukawa," these lines occur : —
" I have indeed heard (from olden times),
That the korohiko1 (shrub) was by hikuao,
The very tree with which the Moa was roasted
When all its fat was melted down — "
1 For Koromiko ( T~eronica) .
E. TREGEA.R. — The Maori and the Moa. 301
This is a paraphrase of proverb No. 1, or else the proverb is a
condensed quotation from the song. The next is in a dirge for
the slain : —
" Very calm and placid now the raging billows have become,
Even (as it were) at the total destruction of the Moas
When the cusps of the new moon dropped off and fell down (to earth)."
This is highly poetical, but it tells us nothing. The next is
an entire song : — .
" Alas ! afterwards do thou in the evening hours,
Produce and begin the talk of old,
The story of the very earliest times
Of the great ancient men :
Thus let it be, begin with the very beginning of all,
With the chief Kahungunu;
So that the bird's plume here present,
That is to say, of the Moa,
Shall be stuck into the hair of my principal chief
(or beloved one)."
The conclusion of another song runs thus : " Poor betrothed
beauty, there thou art alone and iorlorn, standing continually in
the midst of the dense thicket, even as the Moa feeding on air,
thy posts (supports or fences) are only for the long, shaggy,
ash-coloured lichen to fly and adhere to, nothing more ! "
These quotations, the only references to be found among the
hundreds of Maori poems which have been preserved, give
no more clue than do the proverbs to the appearance of the
bird. The compound words to be found in Maori, I give from
Mr. Colenso's list. As names of places : Te kaki o te moa = the
neck of the Moa. Pukumoa = belly or bowels of the Moa.
Papamoa = Moa flat; also Spinifex flat. Taramoa = Moa's spur;
also bramble (Rubus aiistralis). Taramoa rahi = spur of the
big Moa. Hauturu moanui = Hauturu-big-Moa ; i.e., possessing,
or having had there a big Moa. (There are several places called
Hauturu.) Moakura = red or brownish Moa. Eauhamoa = said
to be the name also of a bird. Moafcatino = big or tine Moa, or
Moas. Otamoa = Moa eaten raw. Haraungamoa = Moa, or
Moas, observed, or watched, or sought ; or the spot where the
skin of a Moa was merely grazed, and it got off. Tarawamoa =
stand, or stage, erected for hanging dead Moa. Moawhiti =
startled Moa, or doubling Moa. Moawhangaiti = Moa briefly
waited for ; Moawhanganui — Moa long waited for. Moarahi =
big Moa. Moawhango = hoarse-sounding Moa. As names of
persons : Tawakeheimoa — this may mean Tawake able to meet
a Moa. (I must condense the other words.) Te kahureremoa —
this may mean the garment which fell off, or was thrown aside
in fleeing from a Moa. In names of things : raumoa, kauhan-
302 E. TREGEAR. — The Maori and the Moa.
gaamoa, kamamoa = names of three varieties of New Zealand
nax (Phormiuni). Hinamoa = a grub in wood, eating and
making it rotten, and yet having a fair outside. Moai = peaceful,
quiet, as the land in a state of peace. Maimoa = a decoy bird —
as a tame parrot, kept solely for that purpose; to decoy by
means of a tame bird or bait. Mr. Colenso remarks on the
etymology of this word that mai meaning "hither," maimoa
would be " come hither, Moa " — an admirable name for a decoy.
Williams (" New Zealand Dictionary ") gives maimoa as " a pet,
a fondling" — perhaps from the decoy bird being kept as a
household pet. If such a huge creature as the Dinornis had
been kept as a pet wherewith to decoy others of its species (as
ducks are used as decoys for ducks, parrots for parrots, even
tame elephants for wild ones), all mention of such inhabitants of
their villages has been omitted from lists of pets, huntings,
songs, and traditions. MoamoaaLndhanwamoa = small spherical
shining mineral balls, the size of marbles, found in the earth in
several places. Whaka-moa = to make up, or raise a plat, or
heap of small stones, or of earth : to make a raised bed of earth,
for planting, as in a food cultivation. Whaka-maimoa = to show
kindness to rough, undeserving people; to make tame, civil
(this from the pet or decoy word).
I have given these words with their probable meanings as
suggested by our best scholar ; but, he adds, " in almost every
case they may mean (or originally have meant) something else ;
for some of them may have reference to a man, or men, named
Moa ; others (as papamoa, raumoa) to the seaside grass called
Moa, &c."
The " Moa with a hoarse cry " may allude to any bird which
has a loud note ; the " red Moa " would seem to be inapplicable
to the dull grey bird which (to judge by the few feathers
we possess) the Moa probably was; "Moa eaten raw" tells us
nothing ; but there are two or three of the compound words
which are of importance, if my theory that the Maoris once
knew the domestic fowl and lost it, is correct. Taramoa =
" Moa's spur," and tataramoa = " the bramble." The New
Zealand bramble is a plant of which leaf and branch are covered
(underneath) with spines curved backward like the spur of a
cock. Similar thorny plants received similar names in the
sister dialects ; the Tahitian tataramoa a prickly shrub, and
the Tongan talatalamoa, a thorny plant, being apparently
equivalent in derivation to the Hawaiian (reversed form)
moakakala (i.e., moatatara), a cock with sharp spurs. A strong
inference may be drawn that the persons who thus named
thorny plants either were once altogether in a place where such
plants had already received this name drawn from the " spur of
E. TREGEAK. — Tlie Maori and the Moa. 303
the cock," or else that possessing a thorough knowledge of the
qualities and fighting weapon of the cock, they had separately
dropped upon a common term for thus describing prickly
shrubs ; of course the presumption is against such coincidence,
and in favour of the plant having received its name before the
dispersion. But, if so, although the cock was unknown in New
Zealand in the days of Cook, it is practically good evidence that
the forefathers of the Maori were once acquainted with it. The
other important compound is the Maori word ta^^•tauamoa,
defined by Williams in his " New Zealand Dictionary " as " a
quarrel in which few take part." This may apply to the
Dinornis if we could find out enough concerning its habits to
show that it was of a combative nature ; but beside this word, I
set one of identical etymology in Samoan, fa'amoataulia, " to
provoke a quarrel of two, as if of two ^ucks " — (Pratt, " Samoan
Dictionary "). Tau, in Maori, means " to attack," and taua, " a
war-party." Tau, in Samoan, means " to fight," and taua " a
war-party." The Samoan word dissected stands thus fa'a, a
causative prefix, "to make" (answering to New Zealand whaka),
tau, to fight, moa, a cock, Ha, verbal termination. Thus the
modern Maori interpretation, " a quarrel in which few take part,"
resolves itself into a probable " cock-fight."
I believe these two etymologies to be of great importance.
If the Maoris, having lost the domestic fowl, applied to the
older men (who had seen or heard of it) for a picture or repre-
sentation of it, perhaps the image of a crowing cock, with its
beak open, would be presented to them, as it is so often among
ourselves on signs, trademarks, &c. This may account for the
" feeding on the wind " notion ; and the connection of the word
Moa with the enormous bones, may have arisen in the following
way. If the island was inhabited, as some traditions say, by an
aboriginal race, the exterminators of the Moa, these autoch-
thones, either as slaves, or before their utter extinction, may
have passed on the tradition of the huge lost bird to the Poly-
nesian new-comers. Or, the stories concerning the Moa bird
being a large one, may have been but the child of that wonderful
spirit of romance and love of the marvellous which, growing
with endless repetitions, magnified the lost bird of their fore-
fathers to gigantic dimensions. The lizard-monsters (such as
hotupuku) destroyed by ancient heroes were like "moving
hills " — the water-creatures (such as pekehaua) similarly de-
scribed, were the size of "whales," although we know of no
lake-dwelling, or river-dwelling reptiles growing to anything
approaching such bulk ; antiquity magnified them, as the mists
of the Brocken magnify men into enormous spectres. The
discoverers of the Moa skeletons state that they (the Europeans)
304 Discussion.
first informed the Maoris that the bones were the bones of a
bird. Mr. Colenso states that pictures representing the Dinornis
as " reconstructed " were shown about, and rewards offered all
over the island for the discovery of skeletons of the Moa ; that
the young natives taught at the Missions dispersed everywhere
through the country, and that thus conversations were started
in every Maori village concerning the great bird. It is possible
that the statement of the Europeans that the bones of a large
bird which had once existed were wanted, and the traditional
stories of the Moa (domestic fowl) swollen large by time were
fitted together and produced strange freaks of memory con-
cerning half-forgotten tales. It can hardly be believed that the
Samoans, the Hawaiiaus, the Tongans, the Tahitians, &c., were
acquainted with the Dinornis, or named their thorny plants,
or their "quarrel of two," from any reminiscence of the huge
bird of New Zealand.
In whatever way the question may be settled as to the
Maoris connecting the bones of the Dinornis with the word
Moa, I believe that this paper offers strong reasons for believing
that —
1st. The Maoris, like all other Polynesians, once knew the
domestic fowl.
2nd. That they knew the domestic cock as Moa.
DISCUSSION.
Sir WALTER BULLER, who was unable to be present, sent the
following note : — At the tearing of an important case in the
Native Land Court at Rangitibei, (in 1883), which arose out of
a disputed tribal claim to a large block of land, evidence was
adduced, in support of the Ngatiapa title by occupation, that the
ancestors of the tribe migrated from Taupo to the sea coast in
consequence of a quarrel over a pet Moa belonging to Apahapai-
taketake. The tradition was clear and circumstantial, and was
accepted by the rival claimants as genuine and trustworthy. The
facts (as preserved by oral tradition), are set out fully in the final
address of Sir Walter Buller, who acted as Counsel for the Ngatiapa,
and whose speech was afterwards published, in pamphlet form, by
Messrs. Lyon and Blair of Wellington, New Zealand.
Dr. P. L. SCLATER was of opinion that, in the face of the evidence
that had been brought forward in New Zealand, it could hardly be
doubted that the last remaining Moa had been exterminated by
man, and that, looking to the freshness of some of the remains
(portions of skin, feathers, &c.), this could not have taken place at
any very remote period. But, whether this had been done by the
Maoris, when they first arrived in New Zealand, or by some
pre-existing race was perhaps uncertain, although he had always
believed that it had been done by the Maoris.
REV. B. DANES. — Shell-Money of New Britain. 305
Mrs. CAREY-HOBSON suggested as a reason for the Maoris
having the word " Moa " as a name for bird, that it appears that
some of the New Zealand birds have a note which sounds like
"Moa," for instance, the Maori hen in the bush calls " Moaraine,
Moaraine," another bird " Morepork."
Mrs. Carey-Hobson found in South Africa, that the natives
called several birds after their notes, as the Bromma-bird, the
Koor-haau, the Hoo-poo, and many others.
As to other articles mentioned in the paper as also sometimes
designated by the word Moa, was it possible that the bones of the
bird were used in their manufacture ?
Mr. WALHOUSE remarked that if the Moa existed up to com-
parative recent times, the remembrance of it might nevertheless
have died out amongst the Maoris, and there might be no allusions
to it on their traditions.
The disappearance of a conspicuous animal, once existing, from
popular memory may be elsewhere paralleled. Thus the common
brown bear was certainly not unfrequent in Britain during the
Roman occupation, and probably for some time after, but, though
speaking with diffidence, he did not know that there is any allusion
to it in the early English writers, and so large an animal might
have been expected to survive in popular talk and story, as it does in
Germany to-day. The beaver, that probably became extinct not long
after the bear, is often mentioned in Welsh poetry, but not the
bear. Again, it has been surmised, though on doubtful grounds,
that the gigantic Irish elk,which must have been amongst mammals
what the Moa was amongst birds, may have been contemporary
with the early inhabitants of Ireland ; but though Irish literature
and tradition go back to a great antiquity, there is no allusion to
or remembrance of it.
The following paper was read by the Assistant Secretary :—
On the SHELL-MONEY of NEW BEITAIN.
By the Rev. BENJAMIN BANKS.
THE shell-money of New Britain is a very important factor in
the life of a New Britain savage. Any account of the New
Britain people, their lives and their customs, will fall short of
what it should be if this important currency is not discussed.
The name of this money on the Duke of York group and New
Ireland is Diwara. On New Britain it is called Tambu.
There are other kinds of money in the group. (1.) The
Lideran of New Ireland, which is composed of different kinds of
shell broken into flakes and ground down into circular form to
306 REV. B. BANKS. — On the SJiell-Money
the size of an ordinary glass bead. A hole is bored through the
centre of each bead, and threaded upon string. Lideran is made
thus into lengths measuring from the nipple of one breast to the
nipple of the other, and a length has its fixed value. Seven or
eight of these will make one fathom, and in New Ireland one
fathom of Lideran will purchase more than one fathom of Diwara.
But the Lideran is only of local value, being considered of no
account outside of New Ireland. (2.) Another kind of money is
made at a place called Mioko in the Duke of York group. Its
name is Pele. This is bought by the New Britain people who
carry it westward to a place called Nakanai, which is about 100
miles from Mioko. Pele is of little value for general purposes
either at Mioko or any part of New Britain — except, perhaps, at
Nakanai, where it may form a currency. So far as we know at
present its sole value lies in its power to purchase the Tambu at
Nakanai. Those who make it sell it to the New Britain people
at the rate of four or five lengths for one fathom of Tambu.
Each length reaches exactly from the nipple of one breast to the
nipple of the other as in the case of the Lideran. For the four
or five lengths of Pele enough shells of which the Tambu is
made, may be purchased at Nakanai to make two or three
fathoms of Tambu. Pele is made of a very common pearl shell
which is split up into flakes. The flakes are broken in pieces to
the size of a shirt button, holes are then drilled through the
centre and the flakes are ground perfectly round to one size
about -^r inch in diameter, and threaded upon string. (3.) There
is another kind of money obtained in New Ireland, but from
what I can gather, it is only used in the purchase of pigs. It
seems to be more an article of barter, the value of which is a
large pig, than a currency.
2. The shell of which Tambu is made is very small. It is
procured from the people who live on the N.W. coast of New
Britain. I have not been able to ascertain the exact part of the
coast. In company with the Eev. G. Brown and others I went to
the place where the people from the Gazelle Peninsula purchase it.
When we asked the people where it was obtained they pointed
us still further west. I have seen ornaments from the east
coast of New Guinea, and from that fact think that possibly the
shell may be found on Brooks Island between New Britain and
New Guinea. When purchased at Nakanai the shells are just
as they are found upon the beach or dug from the earth. They
are done up in packets varying in size, and consequently in
value also. The secret as to where they are obtained is very
jealously kept by the Nakanai people. I have never found one
man in the Gazelle Peninsula who had the faintest idea as to its
whereabouts. It is evidently a trade secret, kept close by the
of New Britain. 307
Nakanai people in order to prevent the Pele and other trade
from passing their country.
3. When brought from Nakanai, each man sits down and
threads his shells on long strips of cane. A hole is first punched
through the back of the shells. The strips of cane, which
are about two feet six inches in length, are scraped or pared
down to the required size, and the shells are then strung. To
join these pieces of cane one end of one piece is made wedge-shape.
One end of another piece is split a little down the centre. The
wedge end of the one piece is put between the two halves of the
split end of the other piece, and a few shells are drawn over the
splice, binding the two sides of the one piece on the wedge of
the other. This process is repeated until all the shells are
strung into one long length, which is then rolled up into coils
ranging from sixty to four and five hundred fathoms. The coil
is then carefully and neatly wrapped up in banana leaves and
suspended in the treasure-house until required.
4. The money thus prepared is the national currency. By it
trade is carried on and it enters largely into every custom and
ceremony of the land. It can be, and is, divided as easily as we
divide our pounds into shillings and shillings into pence. For
the sake of illustration let their fathom of Tambu be represented
by our £. Then half fathom = 10s. Quarter fathom = 5s., and
lowest of all two shells may represent our farthing. .The length
we have called a fathom is the distance between the two hands,
when they are stretched out straight in opposite directions. A
man is praised according to the good full measure he gives, and
execrated according to the short measure he may give. The word
for purchasing a thing is kul. The word for barter, i.e., exchange
of produce, is buapa, thus showing that the two ideas are as
distinct in the minds of the natives as they are in our own.
There are fixed prices for some things. Prices for other things
differ, as with us, according to the law of supply and demand.
All articles of food remain at much about the same price. The
following is a list of prices obtaining in New Britain : — -
Salmon, large . . . . "2 fathom Tambu.
Fowls according to size . . . . £ to £ „ „
Breadfruit, sixty for . . 1 „ „
Taro1 and yams according to state
of crop, if plentiful, sixty for . 1 „ „
If scarce, fifty for . . 1 „ „
1 In purchasing vegetable food, it often happens that a man will buy the
whole of a neighbour's crop before it is dug, for a greater or smaller sum
according to the size of the plantation and yield. I have purchased crops thus
at from ten fathoms to twenty and twenty-five fathoms of Tambu.
VOL. XVli. Y
308 REV. B. BANKS.— On the Shell- Money
Betel-nut, a large bunch . . ^ fathom Tambu.
Twelve, betel-nuts . . 4 shells only.
Canoes,1 large .. .. 20, 25, 30, 50 fathoms Tambu.
„ small . . 7 fathoms and upwards „
Pigs according to size, from . . 7 to 10 fathoms „
Dogs „ „ „ . . 2 to 3
Cockatoos2 . . . . 2 to 5 „ „
2 yards print . . . . 1 „ „
1 tomahawk (good) . . 3 to 4 „ „
Large plantation knife . . 3 „ „
Large fishing nets . . . . 40 to 50 „ „
Small fishing nets . . . . 1, 2, 3, 4 „ „
5. Husband and wife possess this money quite independently
of each other. The children also, almost as soon as they can
understand anything, are taught that the acquisition and reten-
tion of wealth is an important, if not the most important, duty of
life. To let money go for nothing in return or to pay a shell
more than is necessary for an article is considered the height of
folly. Consequently little boys and girls have their little store
and bank, and are keen traders. A wife, however, is often
despoiled of her money by her husband. Not indeed by force.
That would be an invasion of the rights of property, and an
offence against the public conscience. The husband perhaps gets
up a charge of adultery against his wife, he becomes very angry
and threatens to do her bodily harm unless she pays him so
much money. Often she is charged with saying something
derogatory to him. She is then made to pay for " defamation of
character." She pays in order to escape bodily harm at the
hands of husband. Often enough the charge is true, but often
it is not. In either case he gets money from her.
6. Money is lent at the uniform rate of ten per cent. It is the
custom on Duke of York, that when a person wishes to borrow
money he must return eleven fathoms for ten fathoms borrowed.
The word for interest there is wawaturu, thus showing that the
idea of usury is perfectly understood. On New Britain the
idea is not so fully developed. I have not found on New
Britain3 a word equal to the Duke of York word wawaturu.
Kumbika is the New Britain word which most resembles the
Duke of York word. klts literal meaning is either a present, or to
1 The price of canoes depends upon their quality as well as upon their size.
2 The price of a cockatoo varies in different parts of the group. The price
stated is paid in Kabakada.
3 When New Britain is mentioned, it must be remembered that we refer
to that part of it with which we are familiar. New Britain is 300 miles long,
and there are many places where white men have never yet been.
of New Britain. 309
present, to give, to pay. When money is borrowed, however,
it is never returned without a fathom for every ten fathoms
borrowed, but the idea in the native mind does not seem to be so
much interest, as an expression of thanks for the favour. It
amounts practically to the same thing, but there is a difference
in the native mind.
7. A New Britain native has an aversion to breaking in upon
his capital. If a man has a coil of money but no " change," and
requiring for his present need only a few fathoms, he will take
his coil and pawn it for as many fathoms as he requires. The
coil is kept by the lender until the sum is repaid with interest
upon which the coil is returned to its owner. This custom is
called the vuvuring.
The people greatly deplore the loss of this wealth from the
community and will do much to avert it. If a rich man is
offended and threatens to remove to another town, his friends
and sometimes many of the leading men of the place will pay
him something to remain with them.
One man often becomes a banker for a number of men. He
is generally a man who is feared and who has a reputation for
valour and a good following. His house then forms a rallying
point in times of trouble for all those who have lodged money
there. He thus becomes a person of influence and power,
because, no matter what villany he may perpetrate, the de-
positors rally round their money to defend it, and in so doing
defend him. I do not know that he is held responsible for
anything which may be missing. I have known cases where
the banker has been offended by one of the depositors, and he
has refused to give back the deposit, claiming it as compen-
sation for the offence. Being feared by the offender, nothing
has been done. I have also known young men deposit money
with their uncle i.e., their mother's brother, and the uncle has
used the money as his own. There seems to be no redress in
that case. I have never heard of any banker using or making
away with or retaining money belonging to others except in the
above cases.
8. A borrower comes more or less under the influence and
power of the lender. If the borrower is a young man and has
borrowed money to purchase a wife, or if a person has purchased
a wife for him, he is then more or less at the bidding of the
lender until the loan is repaid. All initiation fees into various
clubs or societies are, as a rule, paid by the elders or chiefs,1
1 I use the word " chiefs " for the sake of convenience, but the status and
power of these men is far from equalling that of the Polynesian or the Fijian
chief.
Y 2
310 KEV. B. BANKS. — On the Shell- Money
thus bringing the boys and young men under their influence.
If a borrower shows a disposition to be restive, he is at once
reminded of his obligation to pay, and the " screw " is as power-
fully applied as with us. If a man refuses to repay a loan, he is
thenceforth a marked man. His character is gone. He is called
a " watukum," meaning an embezzler. None will lend him
money in the future. Some young men cannot marry for the
simple reason they cannot purchase a wife, and no one will lend
them money because they are lazy, or have not been able to
make money in the past, and there is a doubt as to whether
they will be able to make it in the future.
9. Partnerships are entered into by the people. Two or three
will own a fishtrap or a number of them, or perhaps a large
fishing net. The proceeds of the sale of the produce are care-
fully counted at the conclusion of the day's work and equally
divided, or it may be the profits are divided at the end of a
season. Trading and other ventures are jointly carried on and
strict accounts kept, each partner being a check on the others.
The strength of their memory in money matters is astonishing.
Large plantations are made by a number of people and the pro-
duce sold. The greatest source of wealth to the coast tribes lies
in their trading for the shell of the Tambu, and in the products
of their fishtraps and plantations.
10. Atonement of Wrony is made by the payment of Tambu, the
amount fixed being according to the wrong done. This fact has
a great restraining influence upon New Britain society. Thus :
(a.) When war has been carried on for any length of time,
and persons have been killed or injured, no peace can be made
until the friends of the killed and wounded, in the latter case
the wounded themselves, have received compensation from the
enemy. Each side must pay the other for damage inflicted.
This reciprocal payment, if I may so call it, is shown in the
word used to express both the act and the action. On Duke of
York it is wekul. On New Britain it is warakul. Kid = buy,
pay : the we on Duke of York, and the wara on New Britain
denotes reciprocal action. Thus, wekul and warakul literally
mean paying each other. The side which was originally wronged
receives any sum mutually agreed upon in satisfaction of the
original wrong out of which the war sprang, in addition to pay-
ment for whatever injury may have been inflicted during the
fighting. This money is paid, not out of any public fund, but
by the parties principally concerned. While so much as a
single wound is not atoned for, peace cannot be considered likely.
(/>.) Because of the lack of all constituted authority among
the people, simple and ordinary quarrels lead to serious ones.
There is no one man vested with power or authority who can
of New Britain. 311
say " cease," when any quarrel has reached a certain stage. All
peace is arranged by common agreement, mutual consent, not by
personal authority. Take the following examples : —
(I.) To Meli and To Delu were two boys. To Meli put an
iron ramrod into the fire, and when it was hot he drew it across
To Delu's bare back. To Delu was incensed at this, and at once
ran to the beach and cut down some crotons belonging to To
Eumu. To Rumu was angry at the loss of his crotons, and he
went along the beach and smashed a canoe belonging to another
man. The owner of the canoe went and broke two canoes be-
longing to another man. The owner of the two canoes burnt
down another man's house, and even more mischief still sprang
out of To Meli's practical joking. All now thought that the
matter should be settled. To Meli had to pay To Rumu for the
crotons which To Delu had cut down, because by burning To
Delu he had been the cause of the crotons being cut down. To
Delu who had been burnt, had to pay for the broken canoe,
because he, by cutting down the crotons, had caused the canoe to
be broken. To Rumu by breaking the one canoe had caused
the two canoes to be broken, and so he had to pay for them. The
man who smashed the two canoes caused the house to be burnt
down so he had to pay for that. So every account had to be
settled until they found a man whose property had been injured,
but who had injured none in return. His claim would then be
paid and the matter ends. It will be seen that the boy who
was burnt got nothing for the injury done to him. However,
by cutting down the crotons he had forced To Meli to pay for
them, and in causing him to lose money by such payment he
found a little satisfaction ; he had also involved others in loss of
property which caused them to be angry with To Meli, whose
position was an unenviable one for some time after.
(II.) A is a poor uninfluential man. B wrongs him. B is
rich, or at any rate richer than A, and has more influence in
the place. There is no government or authority to which A
can apply for redress. But there is custom which has the
authority of law. There are four things A can do. (1.) He
can appeal to B, and if he can persuade, by promises of pay-
ment, upon a number of men to stand by him, his appeal may
be listened to and his claim for compensation satisfied. If he
has no backers his appeal will not be heard unless B fears
further trouble. (2.) He may take the course which To Delu
took in the above example. But in that case he will only have
the satisfaction of getting B into difficulties, and at the same
time stands a chance of having to pay something himself.
(3.) He may watch his opportunity, and seize the canoe of some
chief or powerful warrior of whom all are afraid : such an act is
312 EEV. B. DANES. — On the SMI-Money
never resisted by the owner for he will be paid, or, entering the
dreaded man's treasure-house, he may take out a roll of Tambu,
and taking it to his own house, he may hold it until B com-
pensates him for the injury done. The canoe, or Tambu, or gun,
or tomahawk, or whatever may be seized by A is taken much
care of as he is held responsible for any harm done to it. It
often happens that atonement is made at once as soon as the
greab warrior has been thus dragged into the quarrel. (4.) On
the Duke of York Islands and sometimes on New Britain,
A may go to a chief, who, as a bad, unscrupulous man, is feared,
and by the presentation of a fee engage that chief to assist him.
' Thus : — A values the damage done to himself or his property at
thirty fathoms of Tambu. He takes three fathoms of Tainbu
and lays them down before the chief. Each of those three
fathoms represents ten fathoms. Thus A really pays before-
hand the ten per cent, interest. (I am not sure that the chief
gets another ten per cent, out of B when the whole loan is
repaid, but it would be quite contrary to a New Britain man's
nature if he did not try). If the chief deems himself capable of
frightening B into repaying him, he does not hesitate to pay A
the thirty fathoms represented by the three fathoms. But if he
thinks this to be beyond his power, he will not risk his repu-
tation by advancing the money. It would be a serious loss of
prestige if he were to fail. If the money is advanced and B
refuses to pay the chief, there are three courses open to the
latter. (1.) He may seize on anything belonging to others and
hold it until payment is made, thus involving others on his side
against B. (2.) He may demand repayment under threat of
bodily harm. (3.) He may refuse to issue more loans to
anyone until payment is made by B. I have only known the
latter course to be taken twice, and in each case the offender
has been glad to pay, for every applicant for a loan being refused,
and knowing the reason why, turns against the man who is the
cause of his being sent away empty-handed.
11. All claims are adjusted by the popular voice, i.e., all have
a voice in the settlement. A violent man however, may frighten
an offender into paying an extravagant price. As a rule, when
atonement is made, the price of an article destroyed is fairly met.
It sometimes happens that the injured suffer considerable loss.
Women and young people who are not well backed by their
friends will nearly always lose. Apart from force, there is little
or no justice. Public opinion is a great factor in the adjust-
ment of all disputes, but, as already shown, a violent man may
over-ride all public opinion.
12. The manner in which public opinion is appealed to is as
follows : —
of New Britain. 313
The people live in families, i.e., father and mother with their
children, and as many of their kinsmen who may wish to live
with them; each family or kinsmen having separate houses of
their own, and all the houses may he enclosed by one fence, or
each house may have its own fence, but erected very close to
each other. Hence if one member is injured, all the family
know it at once. If kinsmen are living at a distance they are
informed as soon as possible of the occurrence. A man's own
kin are bound to stand by him even though he be altogether in
the wrong. They gather together and make a great noise,
shouting and threatening the wrong-doer. This attracts the
attention of the neighbours who run together to see what is the
matter. The injured man and his kinsmen, together with
their following, which may include as many as like to see a
row, go near the place where the offender lives,1 and send one
of their number to him and his friends (who have gathered
together, on the first sign of a disturbance) with terms of settle-
ment. It may take hours to arrange the terms, two or three
messengers continually going to and fro between the parties,
until the affair is settled. There is no lack of communication.
All the townsfolk, not personally concerned in the quarrel, are
ready for the office of go-between, and seem very happy in
being so employed. One, or perhaps two or three of them, may
be selected, and these are recognised by both parties as fully
accredited ; but they have no power to dictate terms of peace.
They are simply messengers from one party to the other, and
the parties themselves must decide whether the terms proposed
are to be accepted or rejected. The initiative is always taken
by the injured person if he is able, if not then by the nearest
kinsman who may be present. In the case of a woman- or a
child being injured, the husband, uncle (i.e., mother's brother),
father, or nearest kinsman or kinsmen present, take the matter
up on their behalf.
The principal parties on either side are, of course, the injured
person and the wrong-doer, but they are considerably influenced
by their friends and following, though if the offended man
choses to accept the compensation offered, he may do so even
against the advice of his friends. The affair generally takes the
form of a haggling bargain. A is injured by B. He sends a
go-between to B with the message that he will be satisfied with,
say, ten fathoms of Tambu. B gives the messenger five fathoms.
This is rejected and the money goes back. B adds a little
more, and this is repeated until he sends his ultimatum, that he
1 This course is taken when reason holds sway, but if passion, then some
violence is attempted at once.
314 EEV. B. DAXKS. — On the Shell-Money
will not give another shell. This is generally accepted, but if
not, any of the methods of redress already mentioned may be
resorted to.
If the quarrel cannot be settled without a fight, either party
can obtain the help of a number of men by paying them for it,
while the neutrality of any influential man, who is supposed to
be likely to favour the other side, may be secured by a sufficient
bribe. This is called vitar ia = " tying or binding him."
I am of opinion, though I am not certain, that offences against
the intersexual laws based on the exogamous intermarrying
divisions, viz., Maramara and Pikalaba, noted by Fison and
Howitt in " Kamilaroi and Kurnai," cannot be atoned for by
money payment. Death is the penalty to the woman at least.
Her male relatives would be so ashamed they would kill her at
once unless she could escape. But so strictly are the regu-
lations observed, that I never knew of a case of infringement of
them excepting by report. Thus, I heard of an old chief on
New Ireland who broke the law ; but he was too powerful
and the people too few, for them to do anything but grumble
about it.
13. The possession of Tambu has a very important influence
on the lives of the New Britain people. Thus : —
(a.) It minimises the evil and fatality of war. The fighting is
as often undertaken for compensation as for revenge, the object
of the contending parties being, not so much to injure as to
frighten the other side into making an offer of money. This,
coupled with the fact that every life taken, and every wound
inflicted in the fight must be paid for — the payment for the
former ranging from fifteen to fifty fathoms, the latter according
to the nature of the wound — restrains in no small degree their
desire for blood. Should the wound have been atoned for and
the man die afterwards from its effects, then the whole life must
be paid for. In one instance an old man was supposed to be
dying. Years before that a man had wounded him with a spear,
and it was said that a piece of the spear still remained in the old
man's body. To this piece of spear was ascribed the old man's
illness, and if he had died the man who speared him would
have had to pay for the life. While this law of atonement
restrains their thirst for blood in a great measure, it must still
be borne in mind that not a few cases arise, in which rage, desire
for vengeance, and jealousy override all prudential and economic
considerations and only life and blood can satisfy the infuriated
man. Cruelty and lust abound in New Britain even with this
powerful restraint, and one who is at all acquainted with a New
Britain man cannot but shudder at the very thought of what he
would be if the restraint were not.
of New Britain. 315
(6.) It establishes personal right to property, and the right to
alienate that property by sale or gift independent of anyone else.
The whole town or family may be against the sale or gift, but has
only the power to protest and cannot prevent it if the person
is determined to sell. This right extends even to women and
children. The writer has purchased land (for mission pur-
poses) from women who insisted upon selling even against the
wish of their friends. The sale completed, its validity has been
recognised. I have known persons who have objected to the
sale of a thing make a present to the owner of a fathom, and
sometimes more, of Tambu to induce the owner not to sell. A
native generally listens to that argument.
(c.) It makes the people frugal and industrious. No man is
held in greater contempt than a spendthrift. In point of fact
such a person is scarcely known. Nothing is wasted. In
purchasing, a man will only buy just as much of anything
as he requires for the time being. Hence we see no whole-
sale business done. One venture at a time is the business
maxim of the New Britain people. Plantation produce is the
one source of wealth for the inland people. A bunch of ba-
nanas will bring, according to size, from a quarter to a whole
fathom of Tambu. Cocoa-nuts from sixty to one hundred per
fathom. Hence the inland people are nearly always at work at
their plantations. They are either in them, or preparing some-
thing in connection with them, or selling the produce. Market
is held on the coast every third day in a large number of places.
Those who live very far back inland have their inland markets
where they sell to those nearer the beach, who in turn sell what
they buy to the coast people. These markets are so arranged
that two are seldom held near each other on the same day. A
man taking his produce to one market to-day, may take more to
another to-morrow if he is so disposed, and it is safe for him to do
so. The coast people meet the inland people at these markets
with their fish and articles of European manufacture, and either
sell them for Tambu or barter for food and other things only
obtainable in the country.
On the coast, fishing, in addition to plantations, is a source of
income. The fishtrap is unique, and takes two or three weeks
to make, and when finished it- is quite a work of art. It costs in
all, including the cost of food and wages for those who assist, and
the cable to anchor it by — often 500 fathoms long — about six or
seven fathoms. Men work from early morning till late at night
making these traps. By the time the traps are made plantations
require attention. Only those who know nothing about the New
Britain people will call them lazy. After a residence of nearly
eight years among them the writer has arrived at the conclusion
316 EEV. B. DANES.— On the Shell-Money
that, comparatively speaking, they are as busy as Europeans are.
There are and have been parts of Duke of York, New Ireland,
and New Britain where enforced idleness and therefore want and
wretchedness existed in the most debasing degree. But when
Christianity has stepped in and made peace where peace
was scarcely ever known, idleness gave place to industry and
wretchedness to comparative comfort and wealth. The innate
industry of the people shone forth the moment property and life
became in any degree safe. I have known a man make fifty
fathoms of Tambu during the fishing season, and ten or twelve
fathoms from his plantations.
(d.) It makes them a commercial people. By the aid of inter-
mediaries their commercial transactions extend to places they
have never visited. But they never, or very seldom, trust
their money with the intermediary. He buys the article with
his own money and sells it to them for theirs, making what
profit he can by the transaction. In the old heathen days
Kinawanua people, a town on Duke of York Island, could go
to one town on New Ireland and there trade for goods from
that place and sell their own. Waira, another town, had its
place also. Nakukuru people could cross over to three places
on New Britain and do their trading. It is needless to say
that through the establishment of mission stations in each
town, trade is now carried on between New Britain and other
parts of the group with almost perfect freedom. A bargain
once made and concluded is seldom or never disputed. All
disputation and haggling is done previous to the conclusion of
the bargain.
14. While Tambu has brought some benefit to the New
Britain people it has not been an unmixed blessing. To it, or
rather to love for it, may be attributed in no small degree their
intense selfishness and their glaring ingratitude. The expression
of gratitude often leads to a little expense. Hence gratitude is
too expensive a luxury for a New Britain man to be acquainted
with. A spirit and life which is unselfish must often suffer loss.
A New Britain man cannot afford that. A people whose greatest
love is reserved for money, and whose highest aim is to get
money, is an exceedingly hard-hearted and an intensely selfish
people.
15. There are other matters closely connected with this shell-
money. Its influence is supposed to extend even to the next
life. There is not a custom connected with life or death in
which this money does not play a great and a leading part. I
am convinced that the man who best understands the uses and
power of Tambu, be he missionary or trader, will carry the
greatest influence amongst the people, because in understanding
of New Britain. 317
that subject he will be led almost into the secrets of their very
hearts, and their life will be understood by him as though it
were spread out before him as a chart. Take away their money
and their secret societies sink at once into nothing, and most of
their customs become nothing. I do not pretend to have
exhausted the subject in this paper, and hope that some
missionary resident in New Britain will make Tambu a subject
of special study, and give to ethnologists complete information
on this subject, which a student of island customs has called
" commercial savagery " and " a new and most interesting phase
of savage life." Not that money of this kind is unknown
elsewhere, but that nowhere else, so far as we have hitherto
been informed, has it so powerful an influence on savage life and
custom.
JANUARY lOra, 1888.
FRANCIS GALTON, Esq., F.R.S., President, in the Chair.
The Minutes of the last meeting were read and signed.
The election of MONTFORI JOSEPH ODGERS, Esq., Assistant
Professor of English Literature in the Government College,
Lahore, was announced.
The following presents were announced, and thanks voted to
the respective donors : —
FOR THE LIBRARY.
From the PREMIER OF VICTORIA. — Prodromus of the Zoology of
Victoria. By Frederick McCoy. Decades I-XV.
From the DEPARTMENT OF MINES, NEW SOUTH WALES. — Annual
Report for the year 1886.
Geology of the Vegetable Creek Tin Mining Field, New
England District, New South Wales. By T. W. Edgeworth
David, B.A., F.G.S., Geological Surveyor.
From Mrs. CRAWSHAY. — Essays written for the Byron- Shelley-
Keats In Memoriam Yearly Prizes for the best essay in English
written by a Woman. Jubilee edition.
From the AUTHOR. — Notes on the Ethnology of British Columbia.
By Dr. F. Boas.
- The Eskimo Tribes. By Dr. Henry Rink.
Preliminary Report on the Marine Fauna of Rameswaram,
and the neighbouring Islands. By Edgar Thurston.
318 A. W. BUCKLAND. — On Tattooing.
From the AUTHOR. — Abnorme Eberbauer, Pretiosen im Schmuck
der Siidsee-Volker. By Dr. O. Finsch.
Czaszki Przedmieszczan Krakowskich, z xvii, i xviii wieku.
By Prof. Dr. I. Kopernicki.
From the SCOTTISH GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY. — The Scottish Geo-
graphical Magazine. Vol. iv. No. 1.
From the BERLIN GESELLSCHAFT FUR ANTHROPOLOGIE, ETHNOLOGIE,
TTND URGESCHICHTE. — Zeitsohrift fiir Ethnologie. 1887.
Heft v.
From the ACADEMY. — Bulletin de TAcademie Imperiale des
Sciences de St.- Peters bourg. Tom. xxxii. No. 1.
From the ASSOCIATION. — Journal of the Royal Historical and
Archaeological Association of Ireland. No. 69A.
From the INSTITUTION. — Journal of the Royal Institution of Corn-
wall. Vol. ix. Part 2.
From the SOCIETY. — Proceedings of the Royal Society. No. 259.
- Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. Vol. xx. Part 1.
• Proceedings of the Royal geographical Society. 1888.
January.
Journal of the Royal Geological Society of Ireland. Vol. xviii.
Part 2.
Journal of the Society of Arts. Nos. 1830-1833.
Proceedings of the Society of Biblical Archaeology. Vol. x.
No. 2.
Boletim da Sociedade de Geographia de Lisboa. 7a Serie,
No. 2.
- Notulen van de Algemeene en Bestuurs-vergaderingen van
het Bataviaasch Genootschap van Kunsten en Wetenschappen.
Deel xxv. Aflevering 3.
From the EDITOR. — Nature. Nos. 946-949.
Journal of Mental Science. No. 108.
— American Antiquarian. Vol. ix. No. 6.
Science. 252-255.
Photographic News. Nos. 324-327.
The PKESIDENT announced that the Annual General Meeting
would be held on Tuesday, January 24th, and nominated Mr.
E. W. BKABROOK and Mr. J. E. KILLICK, Auditors.
Miss BUCKLAND read the following paper : —
On TATTOOING.
By A. W. BUCKLAND.
[WITH PLATE vi.]
THE subject of tattooing does not appear to me to have occupied
the attention of anthropologists as much as its importance war-
A. W. BUCKLAND. — On Tattooing. 319
rants. I therefore propose in this paper to bring forward a
few facts in connection with it, which seem to strengthen the
chain of evidence bearing upon that prehistoric intercourss
which I believe to have existed between widely-separated
peoples.
.Falling under the head of ornament, it seems probable
that this painful mode of personal adornment was adopted at
a very early period of human history, and was at one time
almost universal, falling into desuetude with the advance of
civilisation when clothing became general, and ornaments were
chosen which would not entail pain, and could be varied accord-
ing to the caprice of the wearer. But even to the present day
tattooing forms the dress of the great mass of the unclothed
natives in various parts of the -world, whilst in some places it
is more than a personal adornment, forming a ceremonial rite
accompanying initiation into manhood. In some places men
only are tattooed, in others women alone are thus adorned ; but
there is generally some story or legend given to account for the
preference awarded to one sex over the other, as, for example,
in Samoa, where Mr. Turner1 tells us that Taema and Tilafainga,
or Tila the sportive, were the goddesses of the tattooers. They
swam from Fiji to introduce the craft to Samoa, and on leaving
Fiji were commissioned to sing all the way, " Tattoo the women
but not the men." They got muddled over it in the long
journey and arrived at Samoa singing, " Tattoo the men and not
the women ;" and hence the universal exercise of the blackening
art on the men, rather than the women.
There are two principal modes of tattooing. In the one
which is probably the oldest, cuts are made in the flesh in such
a manner as to leave a cicatrised mark, but generally without
the addition of any colouring matter. In the other a pattern
'is drawn on the skin, which is afterwards pricked in with
needles or other sharp pointed implements, various colouring
matters being rubbed into the wounds, so as to produce a per-
manent picture.
The first method prevails in Australia, where many of the
natives are scarred in a remarkable manner, some of those
exhibited in England last year having the shoulder cut and
scarred, so as to resemble a great tassel, like a footman's
shoulder-knot. But although the custom of thus gashing
the shoulder, back, and breast seems in some parts of Australia
to be almost universal, it does not appear to be connected with
the elaborate initiation ceremonies ; it may, however, probably
have a tribal signification. This mode of tattooing by cuts,
1 " Samoa," by George Turner, LL.D., page 55.
320 A. W. BUCKLAND. — On Tattooing.
leaving raised cicatrices, which Mr. Tomkins suggests should
Le named gashing, prevails with modifications, all over the
African continent. On the west coast, three cuts on each
cheek would appear to be the chief decoration, and these cuts
are coloured red and blue, according to the masks and other
representations brought over for the Colonial and Indian Exhi-
bition.1 It is not a little singular that these three cuts appear
in a bronze head of great antiquity from the Necropolis of
Marzabotto, Bologna, Italy. This head is engraved in the
Smithsonian Eeport of the Bureau of Ethnology for 1882-83,
from which I have taken some of the material for this article.
I cannot meet with any account of the origin of these three
cuts, but believe they may perhaps have some religious as well
as tribal significance, for JDr. Holub, speaking of similar cuts on
the breast of a Korauna says : — " They have among themselves
a kind of freemasonry. Some of them have on their chest
three cuts. When they were asked what was the reason of it,
they generally refused to answer ; but after gaining their con-
fidence they confessed that they belonged to something like a
secret society, and they said ' I can go through all the valleys
inhabited by Korannas and Griquas, and wherever I go when
I open my coat and show these three cuts I am sure to be well
received.'"3 Mr. Johnston gives a sketch of a Mu-ngala from the
equator whose body was entirely covered with cicatrisations,
which he says are produced by raising lumps or wheals of skin
by slitting it with a knife and rubbing some irritant into the
incision," and he tells us that this mode of ornamentation is
practised right along the course of the Congo up to the Stanley
Falls. The marks thus made are tribal. " Thus," he says, " the
Bate'ke' are always distinguished by five or six striated lines
across the cheek-bone, while the Bayansi scar their foreheads
with a horizontal or vertical band."3
The Andamanese, who also practise tattooing by means of
gashing, do so, according to Mr. Man, first by way of ornament,
and secondly to prove the courage of the individual operated
1 Mr. Griffith in his paper on Sierra Leone (" Journ. Anthrop. Inst.," February,
1887, page 309) says, " The girls are cut on their backs and loins in such a man-
ner as to leave raised scars which project above the surface of the skin about
one-eighth of an inch. They then receive Boondoo names, and after recovery
from the painful operation are released from Boondoo with great ceremony and
gesticulation by some who personate Boondoo devils with hideous masks, &c.
The girls are then publicly pronounced marriageable." Mr. Phillips explained
after his paper on November 8th, 1887, the mode in which these gashes are
made : he said with a needle and a knife, the needle being inserted under the
skin and gashes cut across it with the knife, sand being rubbed into the cuts to
produce the raised appearance.
2 "On the Central South African Tribes," " Anthrop. Journ.," August, 1881.
3 " The River Congo," H. H. Johnston, page 420.
A. W. BUCKLAND. — On Tattooing. 321
upon, and his or her power of enduring pain. Women are the
chief operators, and they now use a piece of glass to make the
incisions, but formerly a flake of quartz. They commence tattoo-
ing children about their eighth year, and the process is not com-
pleted till they are sixteen or eighteen ; but they never tattoo
the face, neither do they rub any pigment or other preparation
into the wounds. Although no particular ceremonies accompany
the operation, the marks here as in Africa would appear to be
tribal, for Mr. Man tells us of three tribes who may be specially
distinguished by three rows of cuts down the back and chest,
and " although women do the greater part of this work, the three
lines down the back are almost exclusively made by some male
friend with the ola or pig-arrow ; and except the three lines in
front, the women of these tribes have no special marks, but are
covered like the females of South Andaman with small raised
cuts, which are inflicted by their own sex with the ordinary
glass or quartz flake, and not with the pig-arrow."1 In another
tribe the central row of cuts down the back is omitted, and in
another the whole body is covered with perpendicular and
horizontal cuts.
In the Admiralty Islands, Mr. Moseley tells us that " the males
are mostly marked with cicatrisations on the chest and shoulders,"
in the form of circular spots about the size of half-a-crown, which
are often continued down the back in two lines meeting in the
middle, and these marks appear to be assumed only at adult age,
but " the women are all tattooed, with rings round the eyes and
all over the face, and in diagonal lines over the upper part of the
front of the body, the lines crossing each other so as to form a
series of lozenge shaped spaces." This tattooing is done with
short cuts, probably with obsidian flakes, and are all coloured
indigo blue, but it is scarcely visible at a distance and does not
form coloured patches as in the Fijian women and Sarnoan men.2
The Solomon Islanders also tattoo in this manner with short
cuts.
In Timor Laut, Mr. Forbes tells us, " both sexes tattoo a few
simple devices, circles, stars, and pointed crosses, on the breast,
on the brow, on the cheek, and on the wrists ; and scar them-
selves on the arms and shoulders with red-hot stones in imi-
tation of immense small pox marks, in order to ward off that
disease." But, he adds, " I have, however, seen no one variola-
marked, nor can I learn of any epidemic of this disease among
them."3 It may therefore be interesting to compare these marks,
1 " Anthrop. Journ.," February, 1883, page 334.
2 H. N. Moseley " On Admiralty Islands," "Anthrop. Journ.," May, 1877.
3 " Anthrop. Journ.," August, 1883, page 10.
322 A. W. BUCKLAND.— On Tattooing.
with those described above as in use iu the Admiralty Islands,
which they seem to resemble.
We turn now to the other species of tattooing, being that most
commonly known by that name, in which a pattern is first drawn
and afterwards pricked into the flesh, various colours, but chiefly
indigo blue, being rubbed into the wounds, thus forming inde-
lible marks. This mode of adornment is found very widely
spread, but it reaches its culminating point in New Zealand,
where it may be said to attain the position of a fine art, the
tattooing for each part of the face being known by a separate
term. The blue dye used by the Maories in tattooing is made
from the soot obtained by burning the heart of certain trees.1
The designs consist of curved lines, which frequently cover the
entire face, even extending over the eyelids. The process is
extremely painful, and can only be done by degrees, so that years
are occupied in completing the operation, the instruments em-
ployed being of sharp human bone. Tattoo marks were looked
upon as signs of dignity and denoted a warrior.2
The nearest approach to the New Zealand tattooing appears
to be that practised among the Nagas of India, of whom Col.
Woodthorpe writes, " they would be good looking as a rule, but
for the tattooing which in some cases makes the faces almost
black ; in others the tattooing is blue, and then the bare portion
of the face, especially in those of fair complexion, appears pink by
contrast. The tattooing on the face is called ' Ak,' and consists
of four continuous lines carried across the forehead, round and
underneath the eyes up to the nose, back over the cheeks, and
round the corners of the mouth to the chin ; rows of spots follow
the outside lines and two fine lines mark out the nose, in a large
diamond space."3 Some of the Naga tribes do not tattoo the face,
but only the breast, shoulders, back, wrists, and thighs. The
women are also tattooed more or less, but among the Angamis
and other Eastern tribes, we find very elaborate designs, con-
sisting of lines on the breast, from which proceed eight lines to
the waist, gradually narrowing to a point ; the thighs are covered
with close vertical lines, with horizontal lines on the calves.
This curious tattoo, which has the appearance of tight fitting
breeches, extends to Borneo ; and there is in the British
Museum a painting from " Head Hunters of Borneo," repre-
1 Mr. Kerry-Nicholls in " Anthrop. Journ.," November, 1885.
2 It lias been said, and probably with, truth, that the tattooing of the bodies
of chiefs and warriors was for purposes of identification, in case the head
should be cut off by the enemy in battle, and this is particularly noticeable in
New Zealand, where we are informed that every mark or line tattooed on the
face of a chief is repeated on the body.
3 Colonel R. G. Woodthorpe, R.E.," Anthrop. Journ.," February, 1882, p. 208.
A. W. BUCKLAND. — On Tattooing. 323
senting a Tring Priestess thus adorned. Of this curious orna-
ment, Colonel Yule writes : " The practice of tattooing has been
too generally diffused to build anything on its existence. But
there is an application of it so peculiar and remarkable, that it
is worth while to notice its coincident existence among races
both of the continent and of the islands. This consists in covering
the skin from the waist to the knee with dark embroidery ; in
fact tattooing breeches upon the body. In spite of a thousand
years at least, perhaps much more, of Indian religion and in-
fluence, every male Burman is thus adorned. In Borneo among
certain tribes, the women have precisely the same decoration."1
In New Guinea, the Motu women are very elaborately tattooed
in geometrical patterns. Some of the men are also tattooed, but
in this case it denotes, as in New Zealand and among the Nagas,
that they are warriors, and have slain one or more enemies ; and
Mr. Lawes says, " It is no uncommon thing to hear men quar-
relling, and one saying to the other, Who are you that you
should talk ? Where are your tattoo marks ? Who have you
* killed, that you should speak to me ? " In New Guinea, the
tattooing is done by marking out the pattern in lamp black and
then puncturing the skin by lightly tapping a thorn on it.
Tattooing seems formerly to have been in almost general use
among the Indians of North America, but is now almost confined
to the Haidahs of Queen Charlotte Islands and Alaska : it exists
also among the Eskimos, and Greeley reports meeting a boat
filled with Eskimos from the west of Davis Strait, one
of whom was tattooed. The tattooing of the Haidahs differs
from that of most other races, the patterns consisting chiefly, if
not wholly, of animal forms instead of geometrical patterns ;
these animal forms are the totems of the tribe, and are repeated
on the pillars erected before the door of the chiefs, but they are
conventionalised representations, bearing a strong family resemb-
lance both to the carvings of ancient Mexico and Central America,
and to those of New Zealand at the present day; a likeness
which could not fail to strike those who compared them, as
exhibited in the Colonial and Indian Exhibition : the chief
difference was, that the Haidah totem posts were highly coloured,
whilst those of New Zealand were of natural wood, polished. I
referred to the peculiarities of these totem posts, in my paper on
" American Shell Work and its Affinities," and need not therefore
say more on the subject now, excepting to draw attention to
these resemblances as bearing upon a peculiarity connected with
the art of tattooing. In the very fine portraits of Maories ex-
hibited in the New Zealand Court of the Colonial and Indian
1 "Anthrop. Journ.," February, 1880, page 294.
VOL. XVII. Z
324 A. W. BUCKLAND. — On Tattooing.
Exhibition, the peculiarities of New Zealand tattooing were well
depicted, and it might have been observed, that whilst the faces of
the chiefs were covered with ornamental designs, the women were
tattooed only on the chin, and the faces of young girls were not
tattooed at all.1 The tattooing of the chin and lips of women, we
were informed, took place only after marriage, and in fact like
the wedding-ring among ourselves, denoted marriage. Now,
this custom is not confined to New Zealand, but has a very
wide range, and I quote a few instances from the article already
alluded to on " Pictographs of the North American Indians" in
the Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology for 1882-83.
"Captain John Smith (1819), says of the Virginia Indians.
' They adorne themselves with copper beads and paintings.
Their women have their legs, hands, breasts, and faces cunningly
imbroidered with divers workes, as beasts, serpents, artificially
wrought into their flesh with blacke spots.' " The Innuit, ac-
cording to Cook, tattooed perpendicular lines upon the chin of
wome?i,&nd. sometimes similar lines extending backwards from near
the outer portions of the eyes. M. Gatschet reports that among
the Klamath, the women have three lines, one from each corner
of the mouth, and one down over the centre of the chin. The
Modoc women tattoo three blue lines extending perpendicularly
from the centre and corners of the lower lip to the chin. Stephen
Powers says, that the Karol California squaws tattoo, in blue,
three narrow fern leaves perpendicularly on the chin, one falling
from each corner of the mouth and one in the middle. The
same author says, " The squaws (Patawat, California) tattoo in
blue three narrow pinnate leaves perpendicularly on their chins,"
and the women of the Wintuns, another Californian tribe, tattoo
three narrow lines, one falling from each corner of the mouth
and one between. The "Report of the Pacific Rail way Expedition,"
Vol. iii, says, "Blue marks tattooed upon a Mojave woman's chin
denote that she is married." Bancroft says, of the Eskimo, that
the females tattoo lines on their chins ; the plebeian female of
certain bands has one vertical line in the centre, and one parallel
to it on either side. The higher classes mark two vertical lines
1 The custom however appears to vary, for I am informed that in some parts
of New Zealand no importance is attached to tattooing, which is done, as with
ourselves, simply as a fancy, some young girls being tattooed round the eyes.
From the fact, however, that there is a special name in Maori for the tattooing
of every part of the body, it would seem to have been originally ceremonial in
origin. The female tattooes are for the breast, the thighs, and the chin, the
latter being the principal. See " Te Ika a Marie," by Rev. Richard Taylor,
page 321, &c. Mr. Taylor believes tattooing to have originated in consequence
of the chieftains being of a lighter race and having to fight side by side with
their black slaves, so in order to make themselves appear of the same race they
blackened their faces, and when wars became very frequent they made these
marks indelible to save the trouble of constant blackening.
A. W. BUCKLAND. — On Tattooing. 325
from each corner of the mouth. The Kuskoquim women sew
into their chin two parallel blue lines. On the Yukon River
among the Kutchins the women tattoo the chin with a black pig-
ment.1 Nordenskiold (" Voyage of the Vega ") says, the Chukche"
women are tattooed on the face, especially the chin, the men are
not tattooed, but have sometimes a black or red cross painted on
the cheek. The true Chukches are reported as living on the
coast of America, north of Behring's Straits. They insert bones
in the lips and in the sides of the mouth, and have articles of
nephrite like that from High Asia.
Mr. Everard im Thurn speaks of the tribal tattoo mark at
the corners of the mouths of the Indians of Guiana, but does not
speak of these marks as confined to women : the women of that
country, however, represented in the Colonial and Indian Ex-
hibition, had distinctive marks on the lips and round the mouth
extending across to the ear, but whether of paint or tattoo
markings, could not be certainly known.
Turning now to the eastern hemisphere, we find among the
Ainos of Japan, that the women tattoo their chins, as it is said
to imitate the beards of the men, and among the fellahs of
Egypt, and the labouring people of the cities, the women tattoo
their chin, forehead, breast, hands, and feet. In Upper Egypt
most women puncture their lips to give them a dark bluish
tinge.2 Among the ISTagas of India we are told, " the women
all tattoo slightly ; fine lines are drawn on the chin, the outer
ones being tattooed from the corners of the mouth."3
This tattooing of the chin appears also on the Motu woman
of New Guinea depicted in the " Anthropological Journal " for
May, 1878.
Drawing together the threads offered by the foregoing facts,
we may, I think, assume, that tattooing by cicatrisation exists
chiefly among the black races ; that the marks are tribal, al-
though in some cases they denote membership of a secret
society, a sort of freemasonry, of great service to the possessor ;
that tattooing, as it exists in New Zealand and among the
Pacific Islands, is chiefly ornamental, and in the men honour-
able, denoting bravery in battle ; but the pattern employed has
also a distinct reference to some event, as well as being tribal ;
whilst in the women, the tattoo mark on the chin almost always
denotes marriage. So general does this custom of tattooing
the chin in women seem, that it would appear possible by it to
distinguish the sex not only in the living individual, but in
1 " Native Races," Vol. i, pages 48 and 72.
2 See Featherman's " Social History of the Kaces of Mankind," Yol. T, page
£45 ; and " Science," III. No. 50, page 69,
3 "Anthrop. Jonrn.," February, 1882.
z 2
326 A. W. BUCKLAND. — On Tattooing.
paintings and sculptures. The wide distribution of this peculiar
custom appears to me of considerable significance, especially as
it follows so nearly in the line I have indicated in two previous
papers as suggestive of a pre-historic intercourse between the
two hemispheres. " If," says Max Miiller, " we find the same
words with the same meanings in Sanskrit, Persian, Armenian,
Greek, Latin, Celtic, Slavonic, and Teutonic, what shall we say ?
Either the words must have been borrowed from one language
•by the other, or they must have belonged to an older language
from which all these so-called Aryan languages were derived."
This, using customs instead of languages, is what I have
endeavoured to show in this and other papers. When we find
in India, Japan, Egypt, New Guinea, New Zealand, Alaska,
Greenland, and America, the custom of tattooing carried out in
precisely the same manner and for the same ends, and when in
addition to this we find a similarity in other ornaments, in
weapons, in games, in modes of burial, and many other customs,
we think it may fairly be assumed that they all derived these
customs from a common source, or that at some unknown
period, some intercourse existed of which these things are the
surviving traces.
The antiquity of the art of tattooing is undoubted. Herodotus
speaks of it as used by the Thracians, and I have always held
that the Picts were probably tattooed, and perhaps the ancient
Britons likewise, and that geometrical patterns and other mark-
ings similar to those still in use in New Zealand and North
America found on ancient stone monuments in Europe, probably
denoted the tribal mark or totem of chieftains, as tattooed or
painted upon their persons, but this of course, except from analogy,
must remain a conjecture. Doubtless as at the present day, tattoo-
ing died out rapidly after contact with civilised races ; but it is
somewhat singular, that no trace of tattooing as far as I am aware
is to be found among the Egyptian, Assyrian, Greek, and Eoman
paintings and sculptures, although these civilised nations must
have come in contact with tattooed peoples, unless it had not at
that period spread into the regions depicted by them. The
bronze head before alluded to as found in the cemetery of
Marzabotto, Bologna, is the only one I know in which tattoo
marks, or rather the African tribal cicatrices on the face, are dis-
tinctly to be seen. Mr. Swan, who in his article on the Haidahs,
reproduces this bronze head, fancies he sees something like
tattoo marks on one of the vases found by Dr. Schliemann ;
and I believe it can be plainly traced on some of the Peruvian
vases. I pointed out in a note to my paper on American Shell
Work, the strong similarity between the tattoo marks of the
Nagas as pourtrayed by Dr. Watt in the Colonial and Indian
Discussion. 327
Exhibition, and those on the curious shell masks found in grave
mounds in America ; and a still more remarkable coincidence in
connection with the subject of this paper has since come to my
notice. The shell masks of which I have spoken, have diagonal
lines across the cheek, and some have a hole with a line or two
lines proceeding from it and sometimes two others crossing it
extending over what may be supposed to be the chin* Now it is
a singular fact that exactly the same mark appears on the chin
of the gigantic stone image from Easter Island now under the
portico of the British Museum. Whether these marks repre-
sent tattooing as affirmed by Mr. Ball, and whether then, as
now, these markings on the chin denoted a female, must be
left to further investigation, but it is a subject worthy I believe
of the especial notice of travellers and antiquaries, for it appears
to me of great anthropological interest. The implements em-
ployed are also deserving of notice, being in many places frag-
ments of human bone, but of these I cannot treat in the
present paper.
Since writing the above, I have been favoured with a sight of
a book recently published by Herr Joest, on the subject, and if
the plates given of Japanese tattooing are not supplemented by
painting, it must be conceded that the Japanese are the most
skilful tattooers in the world. The patterns resemble those on
Japanese silks, and might readily be mistaken for a tight fitting
garment of that material. Such, indeed, seems to be the design,
as it is only in use, we are told, among the lower orders, and
takes with them the place of garments.
Explanation of Plate VI.
Map of the world, illustrating the distribution of tattooing. In
this map the dark shading by horizontal lines represents the
distribution of tattooing by means of gashes; the medium shad-
ing by vertical lines, the ordinary tattooing by puncture, with
colouring matter rubbed in ; the light dotted areas represent
countries where traces of ancient tattooing are mentioned in
the paper ; and the three strong lines from left to right denote
those places in which travellers have noticed the tattooing of
the chins of women, chiefly in token of marriage. The scale
of the map is too small to mark each place distinctly, espe-
cially the one spot in Italy alluded to in the paper.
DISCUSSION.
Lieut.-Col. KINCAIED remarked that Miss Buckland in her
valuable paper had referred to the practice of tattooing among the
tribes of Nagas in North-Eastern India, but it might be of interest
328 H. BALFOUR. — On the Evolution of a Characteristic
to remark that the speaker's observation led him to believe that this
custom, though in a partial manner, on the arms and legs is wide
spread among the women of the lower castes of the Tamil, &c.,
races in the south and south-east of the peninsula. Among the
ethnically allied so-called aboriginal tribes inhabiting the Vindyan
and Suthpura Hill slopes it is also prevalent, even among the
women of the lower order of Mohammedans, whose forefathers
"were probably low caste Hindoos before being converted by force.
The speaker had observed the same tattoo markings on arms and
legs. There is very generally a dot on the chin and similar dots on
the cheek or temple very sparingly placed, forming perhaps in
their ideas beauty spots, similar to the patches of our ladies in
former years.
With reference to possibly early intercommunication of tribes
referred to in the paper, there is the curious fact of the Dyak
tribes of North-Eastern Borneo using similar weapons to those in
use by certain tribes of the head waters of the Amazon ; now the
blow pipe alluded to is a very skilfully constructed weapon, as
proved by some in the speaker's possession. The blow pipe is made
of the hardest wood of the forest, eight to ten feet long, bored
most accurately with close fitting poisoned arrows. It is curious
that tribes so dissimilar in manners, customs, and appearance should
have hit upon identically constructed weapons so different to the
usual axes, bows and arrows, and spears of most savages.
The following paper was then read : —
On the EVOLUTION of a CHARACTERISTIC PATTERN on the
SHAFTS of ARROWS from the SOLOMON ISLANDS.
By HENRY BALFOUR, M.A., F.Z.S., Assistant to the Curator of
the Pitt Elvers Museum at Oxford.
[WITH PLATE vii.]
HAVING recently had the opportunity of observing a large
numbei of arrows from the Santa Cruz and Solomon Island
groups, forming a section of the fine arrow series recently
arranged in the Pitt Eivers Museum at Oxford, I was struck by
the persistence of a certain incised pattern on the shafts of the
greater number. The constant recurrence of this design, which,
though showing many modifications in complexity and finish, is
essentially the same throughout the series, suggested that it
must originally have had some definite significance. Either it
might have originated in some natural peculiarity or imper-
fection, the outline and position of which suggested a rough
ornamentation; or in some artificial modification of the shaft
Jawrn/ Arvthropolog.Jnst/., Vol. XVII. PI. VII.
BBaJbfbur.Deb.
ORNAMENTED REED ARROW-SHAFTS.
Pattern on the Shafts of Arrows from Solomon Islands. 329
which served a useful purpose ; or lastly, it might have been
developed from some previous design which represented some
real object. In a lecture1 delivered before the Koyal Institution
of Great Britain. Colonel Lane -Fox described a series of paddles
which showed the stages of gradual degeneration in successive
copyings of a design representing the human form, and how,
by the loss of its attributes, it became reduced at length to a
simple crescent, a purely conventional pattern.
In the series of arrows which I have selected for the purpose,
I have been able to trace what I believe to be the stages of
evolution of the pattern which occurs so characteristically upon
them ; not from some pre-existing design, but from a useful
modification of the shaft, necessary for the perfection of the
arrow itself.
The position of the design is invariably immediately above
the joints of the reed of which the shaft is made ; it usually
consists in the fully developed pattern of a number of incised
straight lines, blackened, and running parallel to the length of
the shaft so as to form a band round it. The length of the
parallel lines is limited by tranverse lines round the shaft.
These are the characteristics of the design, but many modifica-
tions occur, varying in their complexity according to the artistic
taste of the designer.
In the series of arrows which I have figured, the first
(Plate VII, Fig. 3.) is one in which the joints are untouched,
except to remove the leaves, and they remain rough and jagged.
This must have proved an inconvenience in shooting, as the
arrow in passing over the hand on which it rested, would have
rasped it, even if the roughness did not interfere with the
accuracy of flight.
An obvious improvement was to pare down these rough edges,
and leave the whole surface smooth. Fig. 2 shows a joint of a
Santa Cruz arrow trimmed in this way. The fibrous substance
of the stem appears as the silicious exterior is removed in the
process. Now, from the fibrous nature of the substance of the
reed, there would be a tendency for narrow strips to peel away
along the length of the shaft when started by an incision, in the
attempt to remove small shavings. To prevent this peeling
extending far, cross notches were cut as represented in Fig. 3,
Plate VII, the peeled lines varying in length.
By careful manipulation the length of the lines was controlled,
and varied at the will of the native, and two clusters of lines
were arranged symmetrically, one on each side of the shaft, each
1 " On the Evolution of Culture," by Col A. Lane-Fox. " Proc. Koval Insti-
tution," May 28th, 1875, Vol. vii, page 516.
330 H. BALFOUR. — On the Evolution of a Characteristic
group being composed of from five to eight lines of graduated
length. Here, then, the condition of ornament has been reached,
and this state is further marked in this specimen (Fig. 4,
Plate VII) by the fact of the lines having ceased to be in connec-
tion with the actual joint, and commencing a trifle above it.
The paring down of the joint is -here performed by a distinct
process, extra care being taken not to encroach upon the pattern
by peeling as before.
At this stage, moreover, we find that the design is artificially
picked out in black colour. The rough fibrous lajer exposed in
peeling, would tend, in the continual use of the arrow, to become
soiled and darkened, while the silicious outer coating would
have remained clean and light coloured, because of its smooth-
ness, the lines would thus have been thrown up conspicuously,
suggesting the idea of artificially blackening them to emphasise
the pattern.
In Fig. 5, Plate VII, the number of the groups of lines is
seen to be increased, five of them being arranged round the
stem. Each group consists of one very long line and a few
shorter at its base. Here, again, we find evidence of the pattern
having lost utterly its original significance, for the joints in this
specimen are left rough and jagged as in Fig, 1. Possibly this
may be an unfinished arrow, arid would have been trimmed as
in Fig. 4, but, nevertheless, it exemplifies the want of con-
nection at t;his stage between the design and the act of trimming
the joint, from which it was evolved. In Fig, 6, Plate VII, there
are six groups of lines disposed round the shaft, shorter than the
last and more compact in arrangement ; the lines, too, are fine
and incised, and not the result of scraping or peeling. By the
coalescence of the bases of these groups an arrangement is
arrived at, as in Fig. 7. The design here forms a complete band
round the shaft, the points alone of the groups remaining free.
In Fig. 8, the whole is seen to be filled in, the close parallel
lines are bounded by circular transverse lines and no trace of the
grouping remains. In this specimen too it is interesting to
note that, above the band and resting on it, the old design has
been reintroduced at a stage represented in Fig. 6, the upper
circular line of the band representing the line of the joint from
which the first design sprang. Fig. 9 represents the full length
of the arrow of which a portion is figured in Fig. 8, and shows
the distribution of the design on the shaft. Four of the articu-
lations are ornamented with it, while a fifth has a very slight
design, which may possibly be either a degenerate form of the
ordinary pattern, or one that has been evolved from the same
source, but through a different series of stages of development.
There are a great many varieties of the pattern of which the
Pattern an the Shafts of Arrows from Solomon Islands. 331
development has been traced, but all are modifications of the
same type, and vary but in detail and workmanship.
In the series which I have selected and figured, the more
marked phases are alone given, but in a larger series an almost
continuous series of gradations can be shown.
The use of a reed or bamboo shaft for arrows and spears is very
widely distributed, and in all cases there arises the necessity for
paring down the rough joints to admit of the perfection of the
weapon. Assuming that under like circumstances like ideas are
evolved, one would naturally be led to expect to find that some-
what similar ornamental designs would be developed in most of
the localities in which these artificially smoothed reed shafts
occur.
Although in most of these regions some trace of ornamental
adaptation of this paring of the joint obtains, in none have
I found the design, developed in this way, so highly modified
into a purely conventional pattern as in the Solomon Island
series.
In New Guinea the reed shafts of the arrows are mostly
trimmed at their joints, and the peeling is frequently very
uniform, the lines being of equal length. Generally, the pattern
thus formed is blackened, or, more rarely, coloured red, and
extends for an inch or more in length. There appears to be
but little variety, and the ornament does not seem ever to
assume a highly specialised form as in the Solomon Islands.
Some of the Australian fish- spears which I have been able to
observe have their joints roughly trimmed, and the lines, some
of which are short and others long, picked out in red colour,
showing an appreciation of their adaptability to ornamental
purposes. In some cases many of the lines extend from one
joint to the next. I have noticed, too, that the joints of the
shafts of some stone-pointed spears from Port Darwin, have
white colour rubbed round them, both above and below the
joint ; but in this case the colour does not appear to have any
definite relation to the peeled lines, and it appears rather to be
intended to emphasise the joint or node itself. Here then it
is a natural peculiarity which has given rise to ornamentation.
Some African javelins with shafts, apparently of some kind of
Calamus, have the knots scraped smooth both above and below,
and blackened by burning, a neat band-like ornamentation being
formed. This form of ornament does not appear to be very
common. The bamboo shafts of spears from New Hanover are
sometimes scraped on both sides of the nodes, and a white colour
is rubbed over the scraped surface.
Most of the Asiatic reed-shafted arrows have their joints
very neatly trimmed, but I have not noticed the development
332 S. SKERTCHLY. — On the Occurrence of Stone Mortars
of any definite pattern from this, unless the decorative bands,
which sometimes cover over the nodes in North Indian arrows,
have been suggested by the trimming of the joints. In one
South American arrow I observed lines running between the
joints, blackened, which appeared to take rise from the peeling
of the nodes. This is the only instance that has come under my
notice, and the use of a hollow reed shaft is comparatively rare,
and, when it does occur, the joints are often left rough and im-
trimmed.
Explanation of Plate VII.
A series of reed shafts of arrows from the Solomon Islands.
The figures are numbered in the order of the stages of
development of the pattern.
On the OCCURRENCE of STONE MORTARS in the ANCIEXT
(PLIOCENE ?) EIVER GRAVELS of BUTTE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.
By SYDNEY B. J. SKERTCHLY, F.G.S., M.A.I.
[WITH PLATE vin.]
DURING a visit to the Spring Valley Gold Mine at Cherokee,
Butte Co., California, my friend Mr. Louis Glass, the Superin-
tendent of the mines, directed my attention to the discovery of
stone mortars in the undisturbed gravel of the old river system
of California. As this bears upon the question of the antiquity
of man in North America the following notes may be interesting.
I may add that being away from books references are unobtain-
able, but I believe Mr. Bowman has examined some of the finds
and is satisfied that the mortars occur in situ. I am bringing
one home with me.1
1. Geological Position.
The Spring Valley Mines are situated on the Foot Hills of the
Sierra Nevada, in one of the valleys of the Sacramento River
system, which are here excavated to a depth of over 2,000 feet.
The following is a section in the deepest part of the channel :
Spring Valley Gold Mine.
1. Basalt cap 25 to 100 feet.
2. White quartz sands with lenticular
masses of pipe-clay . . . . 450 „
This specimen was exhibited at the meeting.
2? &
II
O §
S- 4)
1°
5-
'O QD
g s
el
fl C 03
^^ 1 g.
•-H E I
p3 11
in the Ancient River Gravels of Butte Co., California. 333
3. Blue gravel, full of decomposed meta-
morphic or eruptive rock boulders 2 to 15 feet.
4. Blue gravel with large undecomposed
boulders, much cemented . . 50 „
5. Bed rock, metamorphosed cretaceous
slates.
The mortars, of which about 300 have been found since the
year 1849, occur in the white sand or gravel No. 2, and one,
examined by Mr. Bowman, is said to have occurred in JSTo. 3.
The general relation of the beds is shown in the section in
Plate VIII. -
The beds 2 to 4 constitute part of one of the old rivers which
drained the country prior to the establishment of the present
river system. This particular " Cherokee River " cuts across the
valley of the Feather River, as shown in the section, and has
been proved beneath the Sacramento River at the place marked
" well."
The gravel is for the most part well water-worn, even the
large boulders, some of which weigh eight tons, being rounded,
with the exception of those in bed 4, which are only sub-angular.
I could detect no trace of ice action, and the whole deposit
bears evidence of its fluviatile origin. The pebbles and boulders
are " shingled," or lie pointing down stream.
At the top of bed No. 3 impressions of leaves are sometimes
obtained in a sandy loam very full of black vegetable matter.
These have been examined by Prof. L. F. Ward and very doubt-
fully referred to Cinnamomum or Paliurus, but he remarks,
"The specimen may possibly represent a Populus unlike any
modern form."1
The blue (and more highly auriferous) gravels are sharply
distinguished from the overlying white beds, there being often a
" pan " of cemented gravel between the two, the cement being
red iron oxide. The general opinion is that these blue gravels
are of distinct age, and much older than the white. This seems
borne out by the characters of the two deposits. The blue
gravels contain many very large boulders of metamorphic and
eruptive rocks with much black sand (ilmenite), while the white
gravels are entirely free from boulders and contain but little
black sand.
2. Age of the Gravels.
Prof. Whitney considers the white gravels to be of Upper
Pliocene age,2 and that with the blue gravels these auriferous
1 Diller, " Notes on the Geology of Northern California," " Bull. U.S. Geol.
Surv.,"]866, page 16.
2 " Geol. Surv. Cal.," vol. i,page 211.
334 S. SKERTCHLY. — On the Occurrence of Stone Mortars
deposits may represent the whole of the Tertiary.1 Dr C. A.
White, quoted by Mr. Diller, suspects the whole to be of Upper
Pliocene age ; and Mr. Diller remarks that " all that can be
definitely stated at present concerning the strata containing the
leaf impressions is that they are more recent than strata known
to belong to the Chico group, and that their flora, as far as Prof.
Ward can judge from the few imperfect specimens at hand, has
a, pre-Pliocene aspect."2
These conclusions are based upon the determination of the
age of the lava flow which overlies the gravels, and from the age
of the faults in the neighbouring Sierras. The lava flows are
derived from the vicinity of Lassen's Peak (GO miles north of
Cherokee) and are certainly not older than the close of the
Pliocene ; and as these lavas are faulted the dislocations are pro-
bably post-Tertiary. Part of the upheaval of this portion of
the Sierras is thus of very recent geological date, and it is quite
possible that the ancient river beds may have partaken some-
what in these movements, for I find from observations on the
transporting power of the sluices at Cherokee that the present
grade of the old channel (about 6 per cent.) could be much
reduced and still afford sufficient transporting power to move
the larger boulders in the blue gravels.
Whatever be the absolute age of these gravels from a geolo-
gical standpoint, their immense antiquity historically is beyond
question. The present great river system of the Sacramento,
Joaquin, and other rivers has been established ; canons 2,000
feet deep have been carved through lava, gravels, and into
the bed rock ; and the gravels, once the bed of a large river,3
now cap hills 6,000 feet high. There is ample ground for the
belief that these gravels are of Pliocene age, but the presence of
objects of human fabrication invests the gravels with a higher
interest to the anthropologist than even to the geologist, and
may suggest new views.
3. Occurrence of the Mortars.
The working face of the mine is an artificial cliff of from
400 to 600 feet in height, the whole of which is fetched down
by the water jets of hydraulic giants. The material is washed
into the sluices and the mortars are found with the rest of the
mass. They are thus not quarried out by hand, but fairly
washed out from the gravel. They cannot have come from the
surface, for none are ever found there, and many of them have
1 " Auriferous Gravels," page 283. 2 Op. tit., page 16.
3 The channel of the white gravels at Cherokee is 1,500 feet.
in the Ancient River Gravels of Butte Co., California. 335
been seen by Mr. Glass with the original gravel adhering to them.
They are readily noticeable as being the only large stones in the
white gravel. I may add that the top soil overlying the lava
cap is very thin and certainly does not contain these mortars.
Occasionally mortars are found on the surface in the neigh-
bouring gulches, but only where the gulch has intersected the
gravels, and these mortars are clearly derived from the old white
gravels.
4. Description of the. Mortar.
The mortar I obtained is composed of some eruptive or
metamorphoric rock, which has become so decomposed as not to
be easily determinable. Its outside measurements are 9^ inches
by 7 1 inches by 6£ inches, but some specimens are rather larger,
others somewhat smaller. The hollow measures 6 inches by 5
inches and is about 5 inches deep. It still retains traces of having
been used for grinding. The external shape is irregularly oval
and shows distinct traces of chipping. The rock has disinte-
grated to a light brown colour like many acid rocks, and this
and the very rolled character of the utensil gives the appearance
of great antiquity.
5. The Digger Indians.
This country was inhabited by the Digger Indians until
about the year 1865. My friend, Mr. Glass, was well acquainted
with them, and assures me that they did not use such mortars :
they hollowed out rocks in situ, and therein pounded the acorns
on which they so largely subsisted. They were acquainted
with these mortars, but knew nothing about the makers of
them, and held them in such superstitious dread that on no
account could they be induced to touch one. This dread of the
relics of past ages seems to be everywhere common and is of
itself proof of antiquity.
6. Age of the Gravels.
If these mortars had not been found in the gravels American
geologists would never have doubted their Tertiary age, but
when relics of man are demonstrated to exist therein, even in
the older blue gravels, one may well hesitate to ascribe to them
so great an antiquity.
Even before visiting California I had suspected these old
river gravels might be contemporaneous with the glacial epoch,
and I still think this possible. This area was not glaciated and
these old gravels, hundreds of feet in thickness, may very well
represent that great interval of time occupied in other regions
by the glacial periods.
336 Discussion.
This would bring the mortars to approximately the same age
as the palaeolithic implements discovered by me in East Anglia.
It must be admitted that this is only a surmise, but if it be
rejected there remains no alternative but to ascribe these relics
to Tertiary times.
7. Conclusions.
1. These mortars are undoubtedly artificial.
2. They come from the old valley gravels.
3. These gravels are universally believed to be at least as old
as Pliocene times.
4. I would suggest they may be of glacial age.
5. The immense antiquity of the gravels is shown —
(a.) By the present river systems being of subsequent
date, sometimes cutting through them and the
superincumbent lava-cap to a depth of 2,000 feet.
(&.) By the great denudatkn that has taken place since
they were deposited, for they sometimes lie on the
summits of mountains 6,000 feet high.
(c.) By the fact that the Sierra Nevada has been partly
elevated since their formation.
Explanation of Plate VIII.
Sketch section from the the Sacramento River to the Sierra
Nevada, through Spring Valley Gold Mine, showing the
geological position in which the stone mortars are found.
DISCUSSIOX.
Mr. BUDLER remarked that in approaching the discussion of this
subject it was necessary in the first place to decide whether the
object in question which had been described as a mortar, was, or
was not, of human workmanship. If proved of human workman-
ship, it then became needful to enquire whether it really came
from the gravel to which it had been referred. And filially, if
satisfied on this point, it remained to determine whether the gravel
was of the high antiquity which had been suggested.
As to the first question, he believed, after some familiarity with
the natural forms assumed by concretions and nodules, that the
object which he exhibited to the meeting on behalf of Mr. Skertchly
had certainly been fashioned by the hand of man. Although rough,
it bore, in the speaker's opinion, indubitable traces of having been
artificially wrought. The material seemed to be a trachytic rock,
and this had not only been hollowed out with some regard to
symmetry but showed on the outside evident marks of chipping.
Discussion. 337
According to the testimony of Mr. Amos Bowman, formerly
attached to the Geological Survey of California, one of these
objects was found in an upright position with a pestle in it — an
association which would place the original purpose of the hollowed
stone beyond all dispute. It may seem strange that mortars are
almost the only human relics found in this locality, but they have
probably survived by reason of their strength and solidity, while
smaller and more fragile articles had perished.
As the mortars are generally found in the gravel after it has
been washed down in the course of hydraulic mining, there seems
room for some doubt as to the position which they originally
occupied.
But Prof. Whitney has cited the evidence of several observers,
who testify that they have taken these objects out of undisturbed
gravels. There appears no reason to suppose that the mortars had
been buried by the Digger Indians, or that they had been acci-
dently washed into the auriferous gravels from superficial deposits :
indeed it is believed by eminent authorities who are familiar with
the locality that such explanations are indefensible, and that the
original position of the mortars in the gravels is beyond all possi-
bility of cavil.
Finally,. there remains the question of the age of the gravels.
The section in Plate VIII, at once suggests a very high antiquity
for these deposits, inasmuch as they are evidently anterior not
only to the volcanic activity represented by the outflow of basaltic
lava, but also— and this is more important — to the subsequent erosion
of the valley by river-action to a depth of several hundred feet.
The evidence thus afforded by the physical features of the district
is supported and strengthened by the fact that the gold-bearing
gravels contain bones of the mastodon and other extinct mammalia.
Whether the geological antiquity of these deposits be as high as
has been assumed by certain American writers may be a question
still open to discussion ; and Mr. Skertchly's suggestion that they
should be regarded as Glacial rather than as Pliocene will certainly
commend itself to those anthropologists who are disposed to exercise
a wholesome spirit of caution in dealing with the geological antiquity
of man.
Mr. T. V. HOLMES thought that if Mr. Skertchly had not been
misinformed on any points, and the facts were as described, they
had in this case more decisive evidence of the great antiquity of
man than he had ever met with before. The section showed what
immense changes had taken place in the physical geography of the
district since the mortars became imbedded in these ancient river
deposits, and these deposits had been covered by the basaltic cap,
now largely denuded away. As to the mortars themselves, a single
one might possibly be explained away as showing- but an accidental
likeness to a work of art, but that objection must fall to the ground,
if, as stated, about 300 mortars had been found in the same beds.
338
ANNUAL GENEEAL MEETING.
JANUAEY 24TH, 1888.
Prof. FLOWEK, C.B., F.R.S., Vice-President, in the Chair.
The Minutes of the last Anniversary Meeting were read and
signed.
The CHAIRMAN declared the ballot open and appointed Mr.
T. V. HOLMES and Dr. SUMMEEHAYES Scrutineers.
Mr. A. L. LEWIS, the TKEASURJEK, read the following report for
the year 1887 :—
TKEASUKER'S EEPORT FOR 1887.
The total receipts for the year 1887 have been 646£. 3s. Id.
being 11£. 15s. 9d. less than in 1886, but this amount will pro-
bably be more than made up by the value of the subscriptions
which have yet to be received, as compared with the value of
those outstanding last year. I say the value, because the
nominal amount of arrears carried forward is about the same,
but some which were brought forward last year and have been
proved to be valueless have been struck off during the year, so
that those now carried forward are, it is hoped, more valuable,
and some have in fact been paid during the present month. The
result of an examination of the composition of the receipts is not
quite so satisfactory ; the subscriptions actually received being
519Z. 15s., as against 543£. 17s. in 1886, although four life com-
positions were received in 1887 as against one in 1886, the nett
diminution in annual subscriptions being 63Z. ; some, of this
apparent difference may, however, be found to be made up here-
after, when all the arrears are settled ; it being a disadvantage
of a statement of receipts and payments that the transactions
belonging to different years get mixed together. The amounts
received for interest and sale of publications are a few shillings
in excess of those received in 1886, and we have in 1887 an
item in our statement, which was not in that of the previous
year-, in the shape of donations, the President having kindly
presented us with the gross amount received for his recent
lectures at the South Kensington Museum.
Annual General Meeting. 339
I may mention that three out of the four life compositions
received were from old annual members who had previously
paid a considerable amount in annual subscriptions.
The payments for the year 1887 have been 634£. 14s. 9d.,
being 801. 2s. Wd. less than in 1886. The items in which an
apparent increase occurs are salary and commission, and house
expenses, on account of their having been paid up closer to date ;
while there is a decrease in office expenses, stamps, miscellaneous
printing, and in cost of the Journal (principally in the illustra-
tions).
The diminution of expense in this matter has not, however,
been due to any false economy on the part of those responsible
for the Journal, but to the fact that the papers published have
not required many illustrations.
There were 111. 8s. 4d. more in hand at the end of 1887 than
at the beginning of that year.
A. L. LEWIS,
Treasurer.
VOL. XVII. 2 A
340
Treasurers Financial Statement.
•e0
00 t^-
rH rH CO ?O -^
«o
00 IN
rH
«O <N CO >O -^
sS
(M IN
O t>-
(N rH
g * S « -j
-o -
ss c
^ Oi O O CO CO C»
«
«o o
rH
S*» 00<N 50 0
m «
;•* r.
rH a
; ^ b- -H 5^ «o •**
5 rH(M
bo
.
. .
r a
•
1 *
%
:
'. -r.
CQ |
H g
I
1
' 8
•-> '•£
O C9
a, a
I> S! °^
M
pt r**
00 G oo «
c
on -g
00 S 2 «rT
o
hi
. ^3 rH 00
t r~l ~« m
~ " rT
o
CO
"3 "3
5*- 93-
, -2 | 55
fe
1 1
1 i
1
i 1
1 o S
3
1 <0 OQ
o c^
i C) o rf g
s-J r Jj
i «o g }£( -C
r™^ © ^ ?
1 ^ r"* 'S'*'
! I4 1 t" 2.1
i ^ o r 2 ^ •—•
rg „ p 5""
H 5 Hj
Is
Miscellaneous
ALABIES AND CO
^ 1 &>§! ^ 11
oca
:O| •< o h-5 a
J ^ ^
0 0» •<*
-«. OJ
•0 0> C
5» eo rH
rH r-
1 .O CTJ
O3 •* C
3^ ^ rH
rH OO «
-2
1 "^ -^ O
o
O O O 00 ^ O)
1 <» ^
* S"0
rH
rH
rH rH
( CJ w ^*io
OS
OO ^fl t>» .". — [-
1 0-J ~ ^"t
00
00 CO t-»
^*H T^
CO
^
H
i -2
^
. c
' i p*
1 G^ ri
Vl a
i ^ §
o,c
1 [V]
•
g
HH ..
o d, -;
•rH CO K^
l>
go
'3 [^ op,
J
g* i' ° ^ ^ P
oo * 5 "^ q fl 5
ooO 2 -H § o c
r
J
rH^S H g S ooP:
P
•• ^Q
a ^ rH C3 C
§
§ ^
'CO rJ r1" 9 fe f-
*H -J3 CD HH J ^~ —
*•= -^ g
o b
® -*^ . . — _
s" IS
o WQ
i ^
K*O G Q_. ODtO GQ C*C
g,3 " fa S « fl 3-
Ss t- ^^^ z ^c
^§S 0 ®=^S W 0*
5 <)M
CJ rv .
»NJV. ^ ^ S Q — ^[j
iJ
I
i E
PP
CQ
OQ —
Treasurer's Financial Statement.
341
0000
00 00 O
1-1
too-*
I*
7 g)
® fc!
S a<
i
^
•-3
s
§
^
s-
i
/-»-*
a
£
M
0
„
0
t>>
OQ
o
r^
oo
00
"8
&
P
N
n
M
<1
J-t
» v— '
^ t»
^
rt
€
£ £
3 .2
^4
Brf
t Deceml
EHOQ
*o
^
§d
«qM
•
i-H 1,
co -J
GO .-
1 .
^P4
f f .
W -
3
as BE)H>
* 5
fJM
g
5
*""'
0
tJ /^
w
rt TS
53 a)
o a
•** bO
H «
•> A °
^ A <j
342 Report of Council.
Mr. F. W. EUDLER, the Secretary, then read the following
Eeport : —
EEPORT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE
OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND FOR THE YEAR 1887.
During the past year the Institute has held thirteen ordinary
meetings, in addition to the Annual General Meeting.
The following list gives the titles of the papers and other
communications which have been brought before the Institute
during the year : —
1. " Notes on the Tribes of the Nile Valley North of Khartum." By Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Sir Charles Wilson, E.E., K.C.B.
2. " The Functional Topography of the Brain." By Professor Ferrier,
F.E.S.
3. " Description of the Cerehral Hemispheres of an Adult Australian Male."
By H. D. Eolleston, Esq., B.A.
4. " On a Fossil Human Skull from Lagoa Santa, Brazil." By Soren Hansen,
Esq.
5. " Stone Circles near Aberdeen." By A. L. Lewis, Esq., F.C.A.
6. " Palaeolithic Implements from the Drift Gravels of the Singrauli Basin,
South Mirzapore." By J. Cockburn, Esq.
7. " Stone Implements from Perak." By Abraham Hale, Esq.
8. "On the Migrations of the Eskimo." By Dr. H. Rink.
9. " Notes on the Inhabitants of the Polynesian Islands." By Coutts
Trotter, Esq.
10. " Exhibition of Aborigines from North Queensland." By Mr. R. A.
Cunningham.
11. " On the Ethnological bearings of the Stone Spinning-top of New
Guinea." By Mr. C. H. Read, F.S.A.
12. "Extracts from Notes on Natives of the Solomon Islands." Communi-
cated by Lieutenant F. Elton, R.N.
13. " On the Operation of Trephining during the Neolithic Period in Europe ;
and on the probable method and object of its performance." By Professor
Victor Horsley, F.R.S.
14. " Comparison between the Recuperative Bodily Power of Man in Rude
and in Highly Civilised Life." By George Harlep, Esq., M.D., F.R.S.
15. " On the Evidence for Mr. McLennan's Theory of the Primitive Human
Horde." By G. L. Gomme, Esq.
16. " On the Dieyerie Tribe of South Australia." By Samuel Gason, Esq.
Communicated, with Notes, by J. G. Frazer, Esq., M.A.
17. " Exhibition of ' Hag-stones ' from Kincardineshire, with Notes." » By the
Right Hon. the Earl of Ducie.
18. " Exhibition of Guancho Skulls with Notes." By Henry Wallach, Esq.
19. "Hittite Ethnology." By Captain C. R. Conder, R.E.
20. " On an Ancient British Settlement excavated near Rushmore, Salisbury."
By Lieutenant- General Pitt-Rivers, F.R.S.
21. " On the Stature of the Older Races of England, as estimated from the
Long Bones." By John Beddoe, Esq., M.D., F.R.S.
22. Exhibition of Implements and Works of Art from the Lower Congo.
By Major-General Sir Frederic Goldsmid, K.C.S.I., and by Delmar Morgan, Esq.
23. " The Lower Congo ; a Sociological Study." By R. C. Phillips, Esq.
24. " The Primitive Seat of the Aryans." By the Rev. Canon Isaac Taylor,
LL.D., Litt.D.
25. " The Maori and the Moa." By Edward Tregear, Esq.
26. "The Shell Money of New Britain." By the Bev. Benjamin Danks.
Report of Council.
343
27. " On the Evolution of a Characteristic Pattern on the Shafts of Arrows
from the Solomon Islands." By Henry Balfour, Esq., M.A.
28. "Tattooing." By Miss A. W. Buckland.
29. " On the occurrence of Stone Mortars in the Ancient (Pliocene ?) Eiver
Gravels of Butte County, California." By Sydney B. J. Skertchly, Esq., F.G.S.
In addition to the work represented by this list of papers a
course of three lectures on " Heredity and Nurture " has been
delivered by the President in the theatre of the South Kensing-
ton Museum. These lectures were attended by large and
appreciative audiences, and at the close of each lecture the use
of the simpler kinds of anthropometric instruments was explained
and illustrated.
The Institute is indebted to the Lords of Committee of
Council on Education for granting the free use of the theatre
for this purpose.
The four numbers of the Journal, published with punctuality
during the year, viz., Nos. 58, 59, 60, and 61, contain 386 pages
of letterpress with 10 plates of illustrations.
During the past year 9 new members have been elected, while
the Institute has lost, through death, 11 ordinary members, 3
honorary members and 1 corresponding member.
Thirty-seven members have either retired or been removed
from the list in consequence of their subscriptions having been
long in arrear, the Council having thought it desirable to
subject the list to a searching revision, and to remove the names
of those whose subscriptions had been long unpaid. Three
old annually subscribing members have compounded during the
year.
The former and present state of the Institute, with regard to
the number of members, are shown in the following table : —
Honorary.
Coi responding.
Compounders.
Ordinary.
Total.
January 1st, 1887
47
77
87
282
493
Since elected
..
..
+ 4
+ 8
+ 12
Since deceased . .
-3
-1
..
-11
-15
Since retired or
struck off
, ,
-1
1 t
-40
-41
January 1st, 1888
44
75
91
239
449
The Council regrets to report the decease of the following
Members: — Honorary Members — Prof. A. Ecker, Prof. A. F.
Pott, Dr. C. Kau ; Corresponding Member — Sir Julius von
344 Report of Council.
Haast ; Ordinary Members — Lady Brassey, Mr. H. Crowley, Mr.
J. 0. Griffits, Sir W. Vernon Guise, Bart., Mr. G. Hawkins, Mr.
J. E. Lee, Mr. Hugh Brooke Low, Mr. Karl F. Nordmarm, Mr.
F. E. Robinson, Mrs. Erminie E. Smith, and Mr. Hodder M.
Westropp.
The Council has to report that it has undertaken, at the re-
quest of the British Association Committee, the preparation of a
new edition of the volume of "Anthropological Notes and
Queries," in consequence of the receipt of the following letter
from the Secretary of the Association Committee, which was
submitted to the Council at their meeting on October 25th : —
DEAR SIR,
The Committee of the British Association, consisting of General
Pitt-Rivers, Dr. Beddoe, Prof. Flower, Mr. Francis Galton, Dr. E.
B. Tylor, and Dr. Garson, appointed for the purpose of re-editing
a new edition of "Anthropological Notes and Queries," with
authority to distribute gratuitously the unsold copies of the
present edition, having been re-appointed, desire to give effect to
the following proposal in their report of the past year to the
British Association : —
' ' The Committee, after carefully considering the question of
how the preparation of the new edition can be most
efficiently done, strongly recommend that the work be
entrusted to the Anthropological Institute of Great
Britain and Ireland ; that body being specially and
permanently organised for the purpose of advancing the
various branches of anthropology; and having many
facilities not possessed by a committee, such as a Council
which meets regularly and at short intervals during the
greater part of the year, is peculiarly well fitted to carry
out the necessary arrangements for a thorough revision
of the work, and of afterwards bringing it under the
notice of those for whom it is intended. The Committee
has reason to believe that the Anthropological Institute
would be willing to undertake the task and to proceed
with the work during the ensuing winter."
They, therefore, ask the Council of the Anthropological
Institute whether they are willing to undertake the editing of the
new edition of " Anthropological Notes and Queries."
The sum of 50Z. has been placed at their disposal, which they
would hand over to the Council of the Institute if they accept the
tsisk, as well as a supplementary sum of 10/. contributed as an
additional subsidy by Dr. Mnirhead.
I am, yours truly,
(Signed) J. G. GARSON,
Secretary of the Committee.
The President of the Anthropological
Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.
Report of Council. 345
After the reading and discussion of this letter it was resolved
on the motion of Mr. Brabrook, seconded by Mr. Atkinson,
" That the Council comply with the request of the Committee."
The Council has entered on the work thus entrusted to its
care, and a working Committee is at present occupied with the
subject.
As the outcome of a discussion on the paper read before the
Institute some time ago by Mr. Reginald Stuart Poole, a Com-
mittee of the British Association was appointed at Birmingham
in 1886, for the purpose of procuring ethnological photographs,
&c., from the Egyptian monuments, and it was afterwards
arranged that a set of these should be presented to the Institute.
Mr. Flinders Petrie very ably carried out this work, and brought
home last year a valuable collection of paper squeezes from
which excellent plaster casts have been prepared. Some of
these were exhibited at the Manchester meeting of the British
Association, and subsequently at the South Kensington Museum.
It is believed that the collection will find a final resting place in
one of our national Museums.1
It may be mentioned that the interests of anthropology were
well cared for at the last meeting of the British Association.
Not only did the Anthropological Section, under Prof. Sayce,
with Dr. Garson and Mr. Bloxam as Secretaries, have a success-
ful meeting, but an anthropological laboratory was open daily in
connection with this section, at which between two and three
hundred individuals were measured.
Among the events of the year bearing upon the work of the
Institute mention may be made of the issue of the volume by
General Pitt-Rivers, describing his recent extensive excavations
near Rushmore. This largely illustrated volume has been pri-
vately printed by the author, but has been generously distributed
to those who are interested in the archaeological branches of
anthropological science.
On the motion of Mr. S. E. BouvERiE-PusEY, seconded by the
Rev. E. S. DEWICK, the Reports of the Treasurer and the Council
were adopted.
The following address by the President was then read : —
1 Members of the Institute may be glad to know that photographs of these
casts may be obtained at the mere cost of printing copies, from Mr. Browning
Hogg, of High Street, Bromley.
346 . President's Address.
ADDRESS delivered at the ANNIVERSARY MEETING of the ANTHRO-
POLOGICAL INSTITUTE of GREAT BRITAIN and IRELAND
January 24th, 1888.
By FRANCIS GALTON, F.E.S., President.
ON behalf of this Institute, and sanctioned by their Council,
I had the honour of delivering a short course of Lectures in
December last, on Heredity and Nurture, at the South Kensing-
ton Museum. Their object was to test the reality of a supposed
demand for information on such subjects, and so far as it was
possible to judge from the results, there seemed to be a widely
spread interest in the matter. It gives me pleasure to express
my obligations to the Lords Commissioners of Education for the
free use of their theatre, and to the many officers at South
Kensington who aided in the various arrangements. Major
Abney and General Testing exhibited in action their beautiful
apparatus for testing the colour sense, which was described in
the Bakerian Lecture before the Eoyal Society last year, and
at the conclusion of each lecture Dr. Garson, Mr. Eudler, and
Mr. Bloxam explained the working of the anthropometric
instruments that were laid on side tables. Whether it be
feasible for this Society hereafter to promote other lectures
bearing on special topics in Heredity and Nurture, is a question
on which I do not feel competent as yet to form an opinion,
though I have no doubt that hopeful attempts to enlist popular
interest in any branch of anthropology will always meet with
your approval.
These lectures have led to at least one tangible result. I
took the opportunity to reiterate my often expressed regret that
no anthropometric laboratory existed in this country, at which
children and adults of both sexes could at small cost have their
faculties measured by the best methods known to science, and
a record kept for their future use. I explained how difficult it
would be to maintain such a laboratory, and to make it effective
except under the shelter of some important institution, that
President's Address. 347
was daily frequented by the class of persons likely to make
use of it. Previously, I had applied for permission to erect
such a laboratory at the South Kensington Museum, but the
difficulties of a suitable position seemed insuperable. Thanks,
however, to a recent suggestion of General Donnelly, and with
his cordial aid, and also with that of General Testing, a success-
ful application was made to Her Majesty's Commissioners of
1851 for a small portion of the Arcades, rent free, that adjoins
the Western Galleries at South Kensington, containing the
collection of scientific instruments, wherein to erect a wooden
building for the laboratory. It will be connected with and
have its only entrance from the gallery. The building has (at
the time when I revise these pages) been completed under the
obliging superintendence of General Testing, and is opened to
the public, though as yet incompletely equipped. I append in
a foot note a copy of the printed notice.1 In one sense it is
small, but it offers sufficient accommodation for the purpose im-
mediately in view, which is little more than a development on
1 Anthropometric laboratory for the measurement in various ways of human
form and faculty. Entered from the Western Galleries containing the Science
Collection of the South Kensington Museum.
This laboratory is established by Mr. Francis Galton for the following
purposes : —
1. For the use of those who desire to be accurately measured in many ways,
either to obtain timely warning of remediable faults in development, or to learn
their powers.
- 2. For keeping a methodical register of the principal measurements of each
person, of which he may at any future time obtain a copy under reasonable
restrictions. His initials and date of birth will be entered in the register, but
not his name. The names are indexed in a separate book.
3. For supplying information on the methods, practice, and uses of human
measurement.
4. For anthropometric experiment and research, and for obtaining data for
statistical discussion.
Charges for making the principal measurements : — Three pence each, to those
who are already on the Register. Fourpence each, to those who are not : — One
page of the Register will thenceforward be assigned to them, and a few extra
measurements will be made, chiefly for future identification.
The Superintendent is charged with the control of the laboratory and with
determining in each case, which, if any, of the extra measurements may be
made, and under what conditions.
348 President's Address.
a more permanent basis of the anthropometric laboratory that I
established in the International Health Exhibition of 1884, and
at which nearly 10,000 persons were measured. I propose now
to preserve copies of the records in such a form that the
persons measured may always be able to refer to them so long
as the laboratory exists. There will be one page of a folio
register book assigned to each person in which the measure-
ments made on successive occasions will be copied on successive
lines, to show at a glance the personal development. No names
will appear in the registers, but only initials and dates of birth ;
the names and the mothers' surnames will be entered in a
separate book. There will be besides a brief list of questions,
both personal and family, which the applicant for measurement
will be invited to answer, one of them is whether the parents
were first cousins. The copies of the measurements retained in
the laboratory will be useful in two ways, the one as statistical
documents, and the other as records always accessible under
proper restrictions to the persons measured, or to their repre-
sentatives. I conceive that this arrangement will facilitate the
desirable, practice of keeping family records, because so far as
members of any family may have been measured, it will be
feasible, with their concurrence, to obtain copies of those mea-
surements. I am by no means one of those who desire to con-
fine anthropometry to the simpler physical data, but I wish to
extend it as widely as the possibilities of measurements, however
rough, may allow. Under judicious statistical treatment, rough
measurements of many individuals are capable, as we all know,
of yielding trustworthy results, and if we ascertain the degree
of precision of our measurements, we can treat them individually
on scientific principles, assigning to them their just weight,
however small their precision may be. The off-hand measure-
ments that can alone be made of a person who is only a few
minutes under experiment, in respect to the delicacy of his
senses, and of his reaction-times, are far better than none at all.
They will at least serve to indicate such marked peculiarities
as may merit more sustained examination.
President's Address. 349
The conditions of the laboratory admit only of measurements
of the living person and in clothes, and we must make the
best of these conditions. It would be undesirable to ask even
that the shoes should be taken off. When persons of all
ranks and of both sexes are admitted, and many operations
have to be gone through in a brief time, it is necessary to
measure those persons in their usual indoor clothing. Quite
enough can be done under this restriction to furnish a record
of the rate of growth and development of the young, and to
yield statistical data of considerable value. We can at least
record the eye colour; the length, breadth, and possibly the
height of head ; the stature in shoes less the thickness of the heel,
the height above chair when sitting squarely in it, and the height
of the knee above the ground ; also the spread of the arms from
finger tip to finger tip, the length of the middle finger, which is
correlated with the length of the foot, and that from finger tip
to elbow. These measurements give directly or inferentially
the total stature and total arm-spread, and the respective lengths
of the trunk and the two leg-bones; also the lengths of the upper
and lower arm and of the middle finger. We also can easily and
rapidly obtain the lung capacity, strength of squeeze with the
right and left hand, keenness of sight with right and left eye,
and the colour sense. More delicate apparatus will be at hand
to be used occasionally, to test the remaining senses, the psycho-
physical reactions, and such other physiological constants as
may be found feasible and convenient to measure.
The curious memoir by M. Alphonse Bertillon in the " Annales
de Demographic Internationale," republished as a pamphlet in
1881,1 and the memoirs read at the International Penitentiary
Congress at Eome in 1885,2 by that gentlemen and by M. Louis
Herbette, Director of the Penitentiary Department of the Interior,
1 Une application pratique de I'anthropometrie BUT un precede d'identifica-
tion, pennettant de retrouver le nom d'un recidiviste au moyen de son seul
signalement, &c. (GK Masson, Paris, 1881).
2 " Les Signalements Anthropometriques." Conference faite au Congres
Penitentiare International de Borne (GK Masson, Paris, 1886) .
350 President's Address.
and the very favourable remarks on M. Bertillon's methods by M.
Paul Topinard, in the " Eevue d'Anthropologie/' of 1886, p. 607,
and of 1887, p. 379,1 suggest another use for an anthropometric
laboratory. M. Bertillon showed that the various measure-
ments of an individual might afford data of extraordinary value
in deciding questions of identity. Ten or a dozen words easily
transmissible by telegraph, could give a sufficiently exact de-
scription of a man to make it highly improbable that the same
words would apply to any other out of many thousands of
persons. The immediate object of M. Bertillon's method was to
afford means of discovering whether an arrested person had been
previously convicted. It is impossible for the French police to
make effective search through the vast collection of photographs
in their keeping, which is stated to have received an accession
of 100,000 in number during the course of 10 years. He,
therefore, suggested the plan of indexing prisoners according to
their measurements, and this appears to be now done with con-
siderable success. The service over which he presides is well
installed and is in full work. The measurements chiefly relied
upon were adopted after considerable preliminary experience
and consideration in concert with M. Topinard, who speaks of
M. Bertillon's method in the first of the passages above referred
to, as " an ingenious system which experience has proved to be
excellent, which I have seen in work, and have myself practised,
and which I declare to answer its purpose perfectly." Indepen-
dently of this application of anthropometry to rogues, it is clear
that it may also be of service to honest men; I cannot do better
than extract some phrases from M. Herbette's speech, as pub-
lished in the French report of the Penitentiary Congress at
Kome,, already alluded to.
"S'elevant a des considerations d'ordre plus general encore
et louant les heureux efforts de M. Bertillon, M. Herbette a
montr^ comment cette constatation de la personnalite* physique
et de 1'inde'niable identite* des individus arrives a I'age d'adulte,
3 " Une Tisite a la Prefecture de Police au bureau des signalcments authropo-
metriques" de M. Alphonse Bertillon.
President's Address. 351
doit repondre, dans la socie'te moderne, aux besoins les plus
reels, aux services les plus varies.
" Qu'il s'agisse de donner par exemple aux habitants d'une
contre'e, aux soldats d'une arme'e, aux voyageurs allant dans
les pays les plus lointains, des notices ou cartes individuelles,
des signes recognitifs permettant de determiner et de prouver
toujours quels ils sont ; qu'il s'agisse de compl^ter par des indi-
cations certaines les actes de 1'etat civil, d'empecher toute
erreur et toute substitution de personnes ; qu'il s'agisse de
consigner ces marques distinctives de 1'individu dans les docu-
ments, titres, contrats, ou sa personnalite" doit etre etablie pour
son inte"r£t, pour 1'inte'ret des tiers ou pour 1'inte'ret de 1'fitat,
le mode de signalement anthropornetrique peut trouver sa
place.
" Qu'il y ait certificat de vie, contrat d'assurance sur la vie
ou parfois acte de de"ces a dresser, qu'il y ait a trouver, a cer-
tifier 1'identit^ d'une personne alienee ou grievement blessee,
ou de'figure'e, dont le corps aura e"te" en partie de'truit, ou sera
devenu meconnaissable ou sera difficile a reconnaitre, en cas
de mort subite ou violente, a la suite d'un crime, d'un accident,
d'un naufrage, d'un combat, — quelle ne sera pas Futilite" de
tracer ces caracteres in variables en chaque individu, infini-
ment variables d'un individu a 1'autre, indelebiles au moins en
partie, jusque dans la mort ?
" A plus forte raison aurait-on a s'en preoccuper s'il fallait
faire reconnaitre les gens a longue distance et a une longue
duree d'intervalle, apres que 1'apparence exterieure, la phy-
sionomie, les traits et les habitudes physiques ont pu se modi-
fier de fagon naturelle ou artificielle, et cela sans de*placement
ni frais, par simple e'change de quelques notes ou chiffres a
envoyer d'un pays a 1'autre, d'un continent a 1'autre, de ma-
mere a savoir aux fitats-Unis ce qu'est tel homme venu de
France, et a ^tablir si tel voyageur que 1'on trouve a Eome
est bien tel personnage qu'on a mesure a Stockholm dix ans
auparavant.
" En un mot, fixer la personnalite" humaine, donner a chaque,
352 President's Address.
etre humain une identite*, une individuality certaine, durable,
invariable, toujours reconnaissable, et facilement demontrable,
tel semble 1'objet le plus large de la me'thode nouvelle.
" On peut dire en consequence que la ported du probleme
comme 1'importance de la solution de"passe de beaucomp les
limites de 1'oeuvre pe"nitentiaire et 1'int^ret pourtant bien consi-
de"rable de 1'action penale a exercer dans les diverses nations."
Whether all that was claimed for the power of M. Bertillon's
system, on purely theoretical grounds and in his earlier publica-
tions can be sustained, may fairly be questioned ; but there can be
no doubt that a series of measurements must be of considerable
service as supplementary evidence, either that a person is really
the man he professes to be, or negatively that he is not the man
for whom he is taken. In speaking of these matters it is impos-
sible not to allude to the Tichborne trial, and the enormous
waste of money, effort, and anxiety which might have been
spared, had Eoger Tichborne passed through an anthropometric
laboratory before he went abroad. It would be a reasonable
precaution for every person about to leave his country for a
long time, having regard to the various accidents of good or
ill-fortune, to be properly measured, and to leave a copy of
his measurements in the safe keeping of an anthropometric
laboratory.
It will doubtless be of interest to many if I should give here
the principal details of M. Bertillon's system such as I have learnt
partly from published memoirs, and partly from the obliging-
answers accompanied by useful illustrations that I have received
from that gentleman in answer to my inquiries.
All the measurements and other remarks concerning each
person are written opposite to printed headings, upon a thick
card 5£ inches square. The most convenient primary basis for
classifying the cards is found to be not stature, but the head-
length and the head-breadth, and in each case under the three-
fold division of large, medium, and small. The limiting values
of the measurements ranked as medium are so chosen that the
number of large, medium, and small measurements shall be
President's Address. 353
approximately equal. We thus obtain nine primary classes.
Each of these is sub-divided according to a secondary classifica-
tion of foot-lengths and of the middle finger-lengths of the left
foot and left middle finger respectively, and as before under the
threefold division of large, medium, and small. Thus there are
nine secondary sub-divisions of each of the nine primary classes ;
that is eighty-one sub-divisions in all, to each of which is
allotted a separate compartment in a large cabinet. Each of
the cards is sorted into its appropriate compartment. The
number of persons at present dealt with is such that there are
an average of five hundred cards in each compartment. In each
of the eighty-one compartments the cards are again sub-divided
into nine tertiary groups by means of attached tickets, that
project beyond the upper margin of the cards. They are of three
different colours, according to whether the man is of large,
medium, or small stature, and they are cut into different shapes,
something on the plan of an A B C index, according to whether
the person measured has a long, medium, or short arm, reckoning
from the elbow to the middle finger tip of the left arm. Thus
there are nine times eighty-one, or seven hundred and twenty-
nine tertiary groups. There still remains the possibility of
further sub-division on the same general principle.
It is found to be a rapid operation to scrutinise individually
the small batch of cards to which this process of six successive
sub-divisions, each with three categories, directs the search. It
is also found that the cases are not so numerous as might be
feared in which the nearness of the measurement to limiting
values, makes it necessary to extend the search to many com-
partments, but on this point precise details are as yet wanting.
There is also an absence of data from which the frequency
of such cases might be theoretically inferred.
It appears to me that the problem of the easiest method of
identification by measurements might be usefully furthered, if
certain data existed which could be procured with little diffi-
culty. Let us consider what it is with which we have to deal.
It is the comparison of two fallible measures of a variable
354 President's Address.
subject. The man who measures the subject in the first in-
stance, is liable to error ; the subject in the course of months or
years is liable to vary ; again, the second operator who measures
him at the end of the period is liable to error. The data which
we want for calculation are the " probable errors " of the two
operators, whose compound effect could easily be formulated if
they measured, say, a couple of hundred persons consecutively
and independently. If there were three operators, A, B, and C,
the series of differences between the measurements by A and B,
by A and C, and by B and C, would enable us to easily dis-
entangle the probable errors of each. Again we want more
definite information than we as yet possess about the variability
of the subject, after different intervals of time, and at different
ages.
Another, and a very important question, is as to the degree in
which the several bodily proportions that are measured may be
looked upon as independent variables. The stature is related
with the length of the foot, and with that of forearm, and we
should expect a still closer relation to exist between any two of
these taken together, and the third. We have yet to learn the
proportion between the number of the elements measured, and
their value for purposes of identification. The supposition that
they may be treated as independent variables, which lies at the
bottom of some of the earlier estimates, such as that in page 22
of the Conference at Eome, headed "fitendue infinie de la
Classificati&n," cannot be accepted as correct.
The whole subject of " Personal Identification and Descrip-
tion " forms an important chapter of anthropological research,
and it is one on which I hope before long to be in a position to
offer some views of my own.
It was moved by Mr. HYDE CLARKE, seconded by Dr.
GARSON, and unanimously resolved : —
" That the thanks of the meeting be given to the President
for his Address, and that it be printed in the Journal
of the Institute."
Election of Officers. 355
The Scrutineers gave in their Eeport and the following
gentlemen were declared to be duly elected to serve as Officers
and Council for the year 1888 : —
President. — Francis Galton, Esq., M.A., F.R.S.
Vice-Presidents. — J. G. Garson, Esq., M.D. ; Prof. A. H.
Keane, B.A. ; F. G. H. Price, Esq., F.S.A.
Secretary.— F. W. Rudler, Esq., F.G.S.
Treasurer. — A. L. Lewis, Esq., F.C.A.
Council — G. M. Atkinson, Esq. ; E. W. Brabrook, Esq., F.S.A. ;
C. H. E. Carmichael, Esq., M.A. ; Hyde Clarke, Esq. ; A. W.
Franks, Esq., M.A., F.K.S. ; Lieut.-Col. H. H. Godwin- Austen,
F.RS. ; T. V. Holmes, Esq., F.G.S. ; H. H. Howorth, Esq., M.P.,
F.S.A. ; Prof. A. Macalister, F.RS. ; R. Biddulph Martin, Esq. ;
Prof. Meldola, F.R.S.; Right Hon. the Earl of Northesk, F.S.A. ;
C. Peek, Esq., M.A. ; Charles H. Read, Esq., F.S.A; Lord
Arthur Russell ; Prof. A. H. Sayce, M.A. ; H. Seebohm, Esq.,
F.L.S. ; Oldfield Thomas, Esq., F.Z.S. ; M. J. Walhouse, Esq.,
F.R.A.S. ; General Sir C. P. Beauchamp Walker, K.C.B.
A vote of thanks to the Treasurer and Secretary for their
services during the past year was moved by Mr. G. W.
ATKINSON, seconded by Dr. SUMMERHAYES, supported by the
Rev. H. H. WINWOOD, and carried unanimously.
Mr. A. L. LEWIS moved and Dr. GARSON seconded, a vote of
thanks to the retiring Vice-President, the retiring Councillors, the
Auditors, and the Scrutineers, which was carried by acclamation.
VOL. xvn. 2 B
ANTHROPOLOGICAL MISCELLANEA.
The PRIMITIVE HUMAN HORDE.
I do not think there is much to answer in Mr. Wake's note. His
position seems to me insupportable because (1) He takes pains to
discuss matters which I do not dispute ; (2) He assumes conclusions
on my behalf which I do not admit ; and (3) He does not appear
to accept the doctrine of survival in custom.
(1.) The difference between Mr. McLennan's conception of the
horde and mine is fully recognised and emphasized by me. Mr.
Wake's observations on the same point are, therefore, superfluous.
But because I differ from Mr. McLennan as to the organisation and
construction of the horde, does it follow that I supply no evidence
in support of Mr. McLennan's theory of the existence of the primitive
group or horde ? It was no part of Mr. McLennan's task to work
out the details of the horde organisation ; what he did was to
arrive at the " conception " of such an organisation by working back
through later stages of society until he came to the horde. Ac-
cepting Mr. McLennan's general conclusion, I sought to fill up the
outline with some special researches.
(2.) Mr. Wake's method of argument is curious. On p. 279 he
" assumes " that the totem organisation of the horde was based upon
the same ideas as the gens. This assumption, in the following
paragraph, becomes an " important conclusion," from which he is
enabled to state that " the totem organisation in the primitive
horde would thus require it to have been bound together by the
ties of kin," and finally to conclude that totemism and exogamy
imply the existence of kinship by blood. I cannot follow the
steps in the logic of this singular paragraph ; I dispute the
"assumption," the "important conclusions," and most of all the
final conclusions, and I await Mr. Wake's proofs.
(3.) Mr. Wake considers that, because the Abor tribes have
developed some agricultural and other advanced habits, therefore
the particular qualities quoted by me are not evidence of " horde "
organisation. May I ask him whether he cannot conceive the
Abors to have retained some very primitive characteristics during
the time they were advancing ? He would admit it in the case
of the Welsh who retained bride-capture in historical times.
I quite admit that the evidence wants careful weighing, and
I thank Mr. Wake for his observations on the tribes I have
mentioned. On the question of the Andaman Islanders Mr. Wake
pins his faith to Mr. Man's observation. I agree with Mr.
Anthropological Miscellanea. 357
Featherman's criticisms of Mr. Man ; but on this point I can
understand Mr. Wake's criticism. But I altogether object to his
" assuming " something on my behalf and then demolishing me on
the strength of this assumption. Thus, on p. 279, Mr. Wake says
the Arab tribe "may be said to answer as nearly as possible to Mr.
Gomme's horde," and then goes on to disprove the likeness and to
speak of " unfortunately for his (i.e. Mr. Gomme's) hypothesis."
Now I never considered, and do not consider, the Arabs have any-
thing to do with the horde type of society, and I have expressly
disclaimed the notion that any modern people could be taken, as a
whole, to represent the primitive human horde.
G. LAURENCE GOMMB.
Barnes Common.
STATISTICS bearing upon the AVERAGE and TYPICAL STUDENT in
AMHERST COLLEGE, MARCH, 1888.
By Dr. B. HITCHCOCK, assisted by Dr. H. H. SEELTE.
THE three columns of figures on the next page are the results
of an attempt to learn what are the measures and proportions of
the average student, and the student of mean proportions in Amherst
College as derived from the anthropometric data gathered in the
Department of Physical Education and Hygiene.
The first column gives the averages — in the several different
items — of all the students who have been connected with College
from 1861-2 up to 1887-8 inclusive.
The second column gives the averages of the same items of those
students only who were of the average height of all College — those
whose height was 1,725 millimetres, or 67'9 inches.
The third column is made up in this manner : — Each item is
separated into numerical groups — or columns of figures — of a small
range — of a few millimetres each, and arranged side by side on a
horizontal line, so as to show the relative size of each one to the
other, or of the largest to those of middle proportions, and of each
of these to the smallest, the top of the columns representing an
ascent and descent.
This will give a gradually ascending series from the left or
smallest individuals to about the centre of the groups, where the
columns will grow shorter and shorter to the right, or to the largest
individuals. The central column, or the point between the two
columns — if they chance to be two columns of equal numbers —
will give the mean or typical measurement of the item.
In the item of Height for example, we may divide it into groups
of 10 millimetres, or about half an inch each, beginning with 1,600
to 1,610 millimetres or 63 inches, and running to 1,830 millimetres,
or 72 inches. This will give us 25 groups in all — and each man's
height as preserved in the book of records will have been placed in
the proper groups.
358
Anthropological Miscellanea.
When all are gathered together in this manner we have an
ascending series from the lowest or smallest measure to a certaia
point where the series begins to descend to the highest or largest
measure. This point — or recorded height — where the greatest
number of observations are found, constitutes the " mean" or the
central point of all the heights, and is to be regarded as the typical
or standard height of all the students. Hence this third column
indicates the student of mean Proportions, while the other columns
indicate the relations of the Average Student.
Average and mean anthropometric data of Amherst College
Students, March, 1888 :—
c
c ^
si
a
c .
ii
§^
it
II
a
g.1
•a S3
3 S?
II
0)
II
SK
— —
U2 0
1
|1
«B
1 2*
S
> ^
i **
• 04
a "
« S;
£ i<
0
t %
2%
o
« £
.c g
•^ "2
"o
f .c
£ >
11
^5
f%
E »
e 3
f a
•< a
8
a
"^ OJ
"o E
s
-§°
H
.13 •*
Ho
(—4
J3 "S
H
^
Weight Silos.
61-2
61-7
61-5
IHead ... Millimetres.
155
153
154
Neck ... „
108
108
109
fBody ... Millimetres.
1725
1725
1720
Shoulder
430
432
425
S
Sternum
1410
1408
1410
Waist ...
250
254
250
I
Navel ...
1030
1030
1030
Hips ...
323
323
3'Jf)
.I1
Pubes ...
860
862
860
Nipples
198
197
200
M
Knee ...
476
475
478
*" (.Sitting...
fHead ...
903
572
902
572
904
568
. I ShoulderElbows
s Elbow Tips
&< Feet ...
372
458
260
372
462
262
370
460
266
Neck ...
349
353
350
g Stretch of Arms
1780
1785
1781
Chest Repose
880
•887
890
^ (. Horizn.Lengths
1732
1730
172$
Chest Full
927
928
930
Belly ...
724
724
730
f Lungs ... Kilos.
1-5
1-3
1 -5
Hips ...
900
891
900
•
Back ... „
137
138
135
er!
Thighs
515
518
515
9
Legs ... „
166
164
160
I •
Knees ...
355
357
355
a
Forearms ,,
39
38
37
5
Calves
345
348
345
E
Total ... „
454
456
450
Insteps
241
240
240
oc
R. U. Arm Cont.
295
294
295
Dip Ifo. of times.
6
6
6
Upper Arms
257
258
255
Pull Up ... „
9
10
10
Elbows
249
250
248
Forearms
260
260
262
Lung Capacity, Litres.
4-11
4-19
4-27
.Wrists...
161
165
160
Pilosity, Part of the body.
2-25
2-10
2'2o
These are " Metric " measurements, and where the item is taken double — right and left parts
— the average of the two U the record.
DISTRIBUTION of INDIAN TRIBES in NORTH AMERICA.
THE United States Geological Survey has nearly ready for pub-
lication a map showing the distribution of the Indian tribes on
this continent north of Mexico. Including the labour which
Major Powell himself and his immediate assistants have expended
in the collection, arrangement, and digestion of the material for this
map, and that done by the Bureau of Ethnology, it will represent
the work of about fifteen years, and will be one of the most
Anthropological Miscellanea. 359
important and interesting publications ever made by the Geological
Survey. All of the Indians living in this country at the time of
the white occupation have been divided into linguistic families,
and the territory occupied by each one of these families is repre-
sented on the map by a distinctive colour. The number of these
families is about 60, and the number of separate tribes between
300 and 350.
One of the first and most important facts shown by this map is
that the territory occupied by each linguistic family, with few
exceptions, is continuous. An important deduction in relation
to the habits of the Indians is drawn from this fact, — that instead
of being nomadic, and wandering over the continent at will, as
has been generally supposed, the Indians had fixed homes, the
boundaries of which were almost as plainly marked as the dividing
lines between the sevei-al States are to-day, and that their wander-
ings were within limited areas, rarely or never extending beyond
these fixed boundaries. The Indians had their permanent villages,
in which they lived for five, ten, twenty, or perhaps fifty years. At
certain seasons of the year they went to the coast or to the rivers
to fish, or to the forest or plains to hunt. The boundaries of the
territories occupied by each family were occasionally changed by
conquest. A stronger tribe or family would by war push back its
weaker neighbours, and thus extend its dominion. Bat the terri-
tory so conquered was recognised by the vanquished, as well as by
the victor, as the property of the latter. If the Indians had been
nomadic, and wandered over the continent, or over large portions
of it, branches of the same linguistic family would have been found
scattered broadcast all over the country.
Some of the few exceptions to this general rule of distribution
are exceedingly interesting, and throw a light upon the unwritten
and even forgotten history of some of the tribes. For instance : a
little colony of the great Siouan family is found in Virginia. How
it became separated, crossed the mountains, and maintained itself
in the midst of another family speaking an entirely different lan-
guage, suggests a very interesting topic for the study of the eth-
nologist. Again : all the north-western part of the continent was
occupied by the Athabascan family, very peaceable Indians. But
the Apaches and Navajos of New Mexico and Arizona belong to the
same family, and are among the most warlike on the continent. To
their surroundings and the necessity of wresting their new home
from its previous occupants and holding it, as well as to the inhos-
pitable character of the country, may not their change of character
be attributed \ Another little tribe of the Athabascans is found in
California.
One of the most degraded families of Indians of North America
in the Shoshonean, of which the Diggers are a branch. And yet,
strange as it may appear, the Moquis, more advanced toward civili-
sation than any others of the Pueblo Indians, are Shoshonean.
One exceedingly interesting feature of the map is the great num-
ber of little families that lived in California and Oregon. Some
2 B 2
3(50 Anthropological .)//.svr/A////7/.
of these comprise only a fe\v individuals — not more th;m forty or
fifty — and yet their languages are entirely distinct from those
spoken by the surrounding tribes. In one instance Mr. Henshau.
who has charge of the construction of the map, found in California
:i single man, the sole survivor of his tribe. From him enough was
learned to preserve the language once spoken by his ancestors, but
with his death that tongue becomes extinct.
A very curious fact in relation to the distribution of the Eskimo
is that they inhabit the coast of the Arctic regions to the exclusion
of other Indians, beginning on the east shore of Greenland, and
following the coast-line of that island around to the point farthest
north inhabited by man. Then, beginning on the coast on the
mainland, they occupy narrow strips on the north shore of Hudson
Bay and along the northern coast of the continent, around, past
Behring Strait, and down the north-west coast of the continent to
Prince William's Sound. Throughout all this immense coast- line
the differentiation of language is very small ; so that an Eskimo
from Greenland transported to Behring Strait would in a month be
able to speak the language of the natives there as well as though
he had been born there. In striking contrast were the numerous
distinct families of Indians in the valleys of California and Oregon,
whose languages are so different that they could not understand
each other.
This map, when published, will be accompanied by a report and
discussion of the facts it discloses, and will be a very important
contribution to the science of ethnology. — -Science, March 23rd.
1888, p. 139.
THE LATE MR. MCLENNAN. — A posthumous paper by Mr. J. F,
McLennan containing a brief outline of his latest, and as yet un-
published, views of the Origin of Exogamy, appeared in the January
number of the " Historical Review." It is supplemented by a short
memoir written bv his brother.
INDEX.
A.
Aberdeen, stone circles near, 44.
Address by the President, 346.
Allen-Brown, J., 65.
Annual General Meeting, 338.
Anthropological Miscellanea : — Lec-
tures on Anthropology — British
Association Meeting, 79 ; Archaeo-
logical Meeting — Chinese supersti-
tion, 80 ; address to the Anthro-
pological Section of the British
Association at Manchester, 166 ; on
the notes sounded by Mr. Gallon's
whistles for testing the limit of audi-
bility of sound, 181 ; note on the
Dieyere Tribe of South Australia,
1 85 ; report of the Bureau of Ethno-
logy, 1886, 187; the primitive human
horde, 276, 356; sketch of an
Aniwa Grammar, 282 ; racial photo-
graphs from the Egyptian Monu-
ments— the Races of Tndia, 289 ;
statistics bearing upon the Average
and Typical Student in Amherst
College, March, 1888, 357; distri-
bution of Indian Tribes in North
America, 358 ; the late Mr.
McLennan, 360.
Arrows from the Solomon Islands, on
the evolution of a characteristic
pattern on the shafts, 328.
Aryans, origin and primitive seat of
the, 238 ; history of the question,
238 ; the anthropological argument,
243 ; probable direction of migra-
tion, 246 ; physical resemblance of
Finnic and Aryan types, 248 ; an-
cient extension of the Finns, 251 ;
the cradle of the Aryan race, 251 ;
philological argument — identity of
proto - Aryan and proto - Finnic
tongues, 253 ; grammatical identity,
254 ; identity of verbal roots, 259 ;
identity of primitive words, 262 ;
separation of Aryans and Finns,
265 ; linguistic evidence as to the
civilisation at the time of the
separation, 265 ; discussion, 269 ;
corrigenda, vii.
Atkinson, G. W., 355.
Australian, description of the cerebral
hemispheres of an adult male, 32 ;
detailed summary of both hemi-
spheres— lobes — parietal — occipital,
35 ; temporo-sphenoidal lobe — ten-
torial surface of the temporo-
sphenoidal and occipital lobes, 36 ;
right hemisphere — frontal lobe —
parietal lobe, 37 ; occipital lobe —
temporo-sphenoidal lobe, 38 ; under
surface of the temporo-sphenoidal
and occipital lobes — cuneate lobe —
left hemisphere — the fissures, 39;
lobes — frontal — parietal, 40 ; occipi-
tal - — temporo-sphenoidal — under
surface of the temporo-sphenoidal
and occipital lobes, 41 ; depths of
fissures and sulci, 42.
B.
Balfour, Henry, on the evolution of a
characteristic pattern on the shafts
of arrows from the Solomon Islands,
328.
Barton, J. K., 210.
Beddoe, Dr. John, on the stature of
the older races of England as esti-
mated from the long bones, 202.
Bellamy, E., 210.
Bertin, G., 155.
Bouverie-Pusey, S. E. B., 25, 30, 56,
272, 345.
Brabrook, E. W., 318.
Brain, functional topography of the,
26 ; discussion, 28.
British settlement excavated near
Kushmore, 190 ; age of the relics,
192 ; use of the pits — size of the
animals, 194; drainage, 196 ; small
stature of the people, 197; discus-
sion, 199.
Brown, Dr. K, 68.
Browne, Sir James Crichton, 30.
Brunton, Dr. Lauder, 28.
Buckland, Miss A. W., on tattooing
' — see Tattooing.
55,74, 104.
Buller, Sir Walter, 102, 134, 304.
362
INDEX.
C.
Cerebral hemispheres of an adult
Australian male, 32.
Clarke, Hyde, 30, 56, 156, 272, 354.
Cockburn, J., on palaeolithic imple-
ments from the drift gravels of the
Singrauli Basin, South Mirzapore,
57.
Conder, Captain C. R., Hittite Eth-
nology, 137 — see Hittite.
— 24, 157.
Congo, the Lower, 214 ; climate, 214 ;
food — difficulty of attack, 215 ;
physical characteristics, 216 ; emo-
tional nature, 218; intellect, 220;
wizards, 221 ; religious ideas, 222 ;
social system, 223 ; trade, 224 ;
piratical habits, 227 ; missions, 228 ;
the " Ndunga " — examples of native
manners and customs, 229 ; the
origin of ordeals, 230; discussion,
233.
Council, report for 1887, 342.
Cranborne Chase, excavations in, 190.
Cunningham, R. A., exhibition of
Natives of Queensland, 83.
D.
Banks, Rev. B., on the shell-money of
New Britain, 305 — see Shell-money.
Dewick, Rev. E. S., 345.
Ducie, Earl of, exhibition of three
" Mare-Stanes," or " Hag-Stones,"
135.
E.
EHon, Lieutenant P., notes on natives
of the Solomon Islands, 90 — see
Solomon.
Emin, Pasha, 100.
Eskimo, migrations of, indicated by
the'"r progress in completing the
Kayak implements, 68 ; discussion,
71.
Evans, Dr. J., 55, 136.
Exhibitions : ethnological objects from
Arctic America, 68 ; natives of
Queensland, 83 ; " Mare-Stanes " or
" Hag - Stones," 134; Gunncho
skulls, 158 ; models of excavations
in Cranborne Chase, 190 ; imple-
ments and works of Art from the
Lower Congo, 213.
F.
Ferrier, Professor D., on the functional
topography of the brain, 26.
Flower, Prof. W. H., 30, 74, 100.
Fossil human skull from Lagoa Santa,
48.
Functional topography of the brain,
26.
G.
Galton, F., 25, 30, 106, 114, 133, 199.
Garson, Dr. G. J., 56, 354, 355.
Gason, Samuel, 185.
Gill, Rev. W. Wyatt, 84.
Glennie, J. Stuart, 272.
Goldsmid, Major-General Sir Frederic
J., 213, 236.
Gomme, G. L., on the evidence for
Mr. McLennan's theory of the
primitive human horde, 118.
133, 276, 356.
Gowland, W., 189.
Guanchos, 158 ; anatomical character-
istics, 160 ; language, 161 ; political
and social institutions, 162 ; religion,
163 ; etymology, 164.
H.
"Hag-Stones," 135.
Hale, Abraham, notes on stone imple-
ments from Perak, 66.
Hansen, Soren, on a fossil human
skull from Lagoa Santa, Brazil, 43.
Harley, Dr. George, comparison be-
tween the recuperative bodily power
of man in a rude and in a highly
civilised state : illustrative of the
probable recuperative capacity of
men of the stone age in Europe, 108.
114.
Henderson, G. J., 210.
Hittite Ethnology, 137 ; the Hittites
of Kadesh, 138; Finnic tribes-
Turkic tribes, 139 ; curious pecu-
liarity of dress, 141 ; language,
142 ; religion, 144 ; the couvade —
marriage customs, 147 ; disposal of
the dead — arms and armour, 148 ;
dress — political constitution — laws,
149 ; architecture — writing, 150 ;
metallurgy, 154; engraving gems,
155 ; discussion, 155.
Hobson, Mrs. Carey, 305.
Hollander, B., 210.
Holmes, T. V., 337, 338, 342.
INDEX.
363
Horsley, Prof. Victor, trephining in
the Neolithic period, 100.
106.
Howes, G. B., 81.
Hudson, Miss, 237.
Human horde, theory of the, 118 ;
discussion, 133, 276, 356.
K.
Kayak implements, 68 — see Eskimo.
Keane, Prof. A. H., 269.
Killick, J. E., 318.
Lagoa Santa, fossil skull from, 43.
Leith, Prof. E. Tyrrell, 105.
Lewis, A. L., stone circles near Aber-
deen, 44 — see Stone circles.
56, 201, 338, 355.
M.
Maori and the Moa, 292 ; evidence of
geology, 293 ; evidence given by
traditions, &c., 294 ; meaning of
the word Moa in allied dialects,
296; the legend of Poutini and
Whaiapu, 298 ; proverbs used by
the Maoris — poetical evidence, 300 ;
the word Moa in composition, 301 ;
conclusion, 303 ; discussion, 304.
" Mare-Stanes," exhibition of, 135 ;
discussion, 136.
McClintock, Sir L., 68, 74.
McLennan, Mr., on the human horde,
118, 276, 356.
on Exogamy, 360.
Meeting, annual general, 338.
Meetings, ordinary, 1, 26, 43, 67, 81,
99, 107, 134, 189, 210, 237, 291,
317.
Members, New, 26, 81, 134, 189, 210,
237, 317.
Morgan, E. Delmar, 213, 233.
N.
Nile Valley, north of Khartum, the
tribes of, 3 ; divided into three
groups, 3 ; list of tribes — historical
facts, 4 ; slaves, 6 ; Hamite group,
7 ; Ababdeh, 8 ; Bisharin, 9 ; Kab-
babish, 10; Semitic group, 11 j
Gararish, or Kararish, 12 ; Hau-
wawir — Shagfah, 13 ; Ja'alin, 16 ;
Monassir — Eobatab — Hassaniyeh,
18 ; Ghubush — Meyrifab — Awa-
diyeh — Fadmyeh — Battakhfn —
Shukriyeh — Baggarah, 19 ; Nuba
group, 21 ; Kenus — Mahass —
Danaglas or Congolese — Ghodyat,
22 ; discussion, 23.
O.
Odgers, M. J., 317.
Ommanney, Sir Erasmus, 72.
P.
Paget, Sir James, 102.
Palaeolithic implements from the drift
gravels of the Singrauli Basin, 57 ;
discussion, 64.
Pengelly, W., 200.
Perak, stone implements from, 66.
Phillips, R. C., the Lower Congo ;
a sociological study, 214 — see
Congo.
237.
Pitt-Rivers, General, on an ancient
British settlement, excavated near
Rushmore, Salisbury, 190 — see
British.
Polynesian islands, natives of, 75.
Presents, 1, 26, 43, 67, 81, 99, 107,
134, 189, 210, 237, 291, 317.
President's address, 346.
Priestley, Dr., 103.
Q-
Queensland, exhibition of natives of,
83 ; discussion, 84.
E.
Rae, Dr. John, 68, 71.
Ray, Sidney H., 282.
Rayner, Dr. H., 30.
Read, C. H., stone spinning-toiis from
Torres Strait, New Guinea, 85.
64, 66.
Recuperative bodily power of man,
108; discussion, 114.
Report of Council for 1887, 342.
Report of Treasurer for 1887, 338.
Rink, Dr. H., the migrations of the
Eskimo indicated by their progress
364
INDEX.
in completing the' Kayak imple-
ments, 68.
Bolleston, H. D., description of the
cerebral hemispheres of an adult
Australian male, 32.
Rudler, F. W., 136, 336. 342.
Kyle, Dr., 103.
Solater, Dr. P. L., 304.
Seton-Karr, H. W., 68, 72.
Shaw, W. N., 181.
Shell-mo'ney of New Britain, 305;
name of the money, 305 ; whence
obtained, 306; how prepared for
use — comparatiTC value, 307 ; usury,
308; banking, 309; partnerships —
atonement of wrong, 310 ; examples
of the manner in which quarrels are
settled, 311 ; influence of the pos-
session of shell-money on the lives
of the New Britain people, 314.
Skertchly, S. B. J., on the occurrence
of stone mortars in the ancient
(Pliocene ?) river gravels of Butte
County, California, 332 — see Stone
mortars.
Skull from Lagoa Santa, 43.
Solomon Islands, notes on the natives,
90 ; height and weight — colour, 92 ;
infanticide, 93 ; age of puberty —
marriage, 94 ; polygamy — food, 95 ;
dress — treatment of disease, 96 ;
disposal of the dead — future state
— dwelling houses, 97 ; domestic
animals — government — division of
time — warfare, 98 ; cannibalism, 99.
Spinning tops, stone, from New
Guinea, 85.
Stature of the older races of England,
estimated from the long bones, 202.
Stone circles near Aberdeen, 44 ;
Tyrebaggar Hill, 44 ; Badentoy —
" King-causie " — Bourtree-bush —
Auchorthies, 47 ; orientation, 52 ;
discussion, 55.
Stone implements from Perak, 66 ;
discussion, 66.
Stone mortars in the ancient river
gravels of Butte County, California,
332; geological position, 332; age
of the gravels, 333 ; occurrence of
the mortars, 334 ; description of the
mortar — the Digger Indians — age
of the mortars, 335 ; conclusions —
discussion, 336.
Stone spinning tops from Torres
Strait, New Guinea, 85.
Straker, Joseph, 26.
Summerhayes, Dr. W., 338, 355.
T.
Tattooing, 318; modes of tattooing,
319; Australians, 319; Africans —
Andamanese, 320 ; Admiralty
Islands — Solomon Islands — Timor
Laut, 321 ; New Zealand — the
Nagas — Borneo, 322 ; New Guinea
— Indians of North America, 323 ;
Indians of Guiana — the Ainos of
Japan — Egypt, 325 ; antiquity of
the art, 326 ; discussion, 327.
Taylor, Canon Isaac, the origin and
primitive seat of the Aryans, 238 —
see Aryans.
Thane, Prof., 30.
Tregear, Edward, the Maori and the
Moa, 292 — see Maori.
Trephining in the Neolithic period,
100 ; discussion, 102.
Trotter, Coutts, notes on the natives
of the Polynesian islands, 75.
W.
Walhouse, M. J., 305.
Wallach, H., on the Guanehos, 158 —
see Guanehos.
Watson, Major C. M., 23
Wilson, Sir Charles W., on the Tribes
of the Nile Valley, North of Khar-
turn, 3 — see Nile Valley.
25.
Winwood, Eev. H. H., 355.
Y.
Young, Sir Allen, 68.
'
HARRISON AND SONS, FKINTEKS IN OliDINAKV TO HBK MAJESTY, 8T. MARTIN'S LAVE.
BINDING SECT. JUN 2 8 1967
GN Royal Anthropological Ins-
2 titute of Great Britain and
R63 Ireland
v.17 Journal
PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE
CARDS OR SLIPS FROM THIS POCKET
UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO LIBRARY